The Journey to Freedom Podcast
Journey to Freedom serves as an exclusive extension of the Living Boldly with Purpose podcast series—a platform that inspires powerful transformation and growth. Journey freedom is a podcast hosted by Brian E. Arnold. The Journey to Freedom is an our best life blueprint exclusively designed for black men where we create a foundational freedom plan. There are five pillars: Identity, Trust, Finances, Health and Faith.
The Journey to Freedom Podcast
From Brazil & a Professional Soccer Dream to Energy Innovator: Dr. Naeem Turner-Bandele’s Journey
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What happens when life's unexpected detours reveal your true purpose? Dr. Naeem Turner-Bendelli's path from pursuing professional soccer in Brazil to becoming an energy innovator showcases how witnessing inequality firsthand can spark a lifelong mission.
During his time at a Brazilian soccer academy, Naeem observed troubling patterns—some days the academy had power while surrounding communities went without, or vice versa. These experiences opened his eyes to critical issues around energy access, affordability, and the stark disparities that exist globally. This awakening sparked what would become his life's work: empowering people with independent, safe, and affordable energy solutions through his company, Latimer Enterprises.
Naeem's very name—meaning "benevolent king, born away from home"—serves as a constant reminder of his purpose. "Whenever I am lost or doubting myself, it's something I can always remind myself—you have a duty to others beyond yourself," he shares. This sense of responsibility permeates everything from his professional work to his children's books that inspire STEM education and community problem-solving.
The conversation explores how personal drive, community responsibility, and professional expertise combine to create meaningful impact. Naeem reflects on balancing ambition with self-care, finding inspiration in historical figures like Lewis Howard Latimer, and his belief that true purpose cannot exist without serving others. His journey demonstrates how observing problems can reveal opportunities to use our unique skills for positive change.
Ready to discover your own purpose and build something meaningful? Join our Becoming a Person Universe community launching July 4th, where you'll connect with others on similar journeys and access resources to help you become who you were designed to be. Visit thepodcastingchallenge.com to learn more about creating your own platform for sharing your voice and message
Dr. Naeem Turner-, an engineer, entrepreneur, and author, sharing his journey from chasing pro soccer dreams in Brazil to founding Latimer Enterprises. Hear how his upbringing, faith, and drive to empower communities shape his mission. Gain inspiration to pursue your purpose and serve others.
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I wanted to go play professional soccer. I wanted to pursue that dream and so I went off to live in Brazil. That's been part of my life's mission to empower people with energy and ensure that it's independent, safe and affordable. I don't see my name as a burden, and whenever I am lost or doubting myself, it's something that I can always remind myself like hey, you are supposed to be this benevolent king, born from home, you have a duty to others beyond yourself. When I see marvels of engineering or see marvels of the world and think like, how did people come up with those things? Well, you know, they got inspiration, in part, from the world around them, which was built by a creator.
Speaker 2:All right, welcome to another edition, just another fantastic edition of the Journey to Freedom podcast. And I am just so excited. I'm DrB and I'm your host today and just you know, I think I say this every single time but I get so excited when I get to have this conversation with the different guests that come on and finding out who's doing what across the entire country. And you know, I don't know if you know this, naheem, but I you know, I started this about a year and a half, almost two years ago now, a year and a half ago now and the goal was is you know, how do we, how do we take this journey to freedom and make sure that we are helping in this case, black men be able to see what other people are doing. Sometimes we feel stuck or sometimes we feel like we can't do it or whatever the identity, things that we have in there, and so to be able to highlight and showcase and show other black from all walks of life doing stuff. I think it just creates this excitement in people that hey, if Nahim can do it, then I can do it. And so last winter, in last January, I was able to take 18 Black men down to the South. I don't know how much time he spent in the South, but he went to Alabama. He went to Birmingham, selma and Montgomery. We went to the Bryan Stevenson Museum there in Montgomery. Oh my gosh, what a transformational trip that was.
Speaker 2:And so my goal in 2024 was that I would interview 100 Black men and we got to 105, and we're going to surpass that this year. I'm already at like 70 something this year and we're only at half the year. So, yeah, so we're going to hit we're going to hit the 200 mark and I don't want to stop. This has been.
Speaker 2:You know, I get to say that I'm the luckiest person on the planet because I get to learn from you, and so, like all the other guests in the home, I'd love for you to kind of share your story. I will start there and then we'll move into our pillars. But, yeah, if you're able to just tell us you know, maybe a little bit about your past, I think people love to hear so much more about who people are before you kind of get that relationship and that trust before they know what they do, and so we'd love for you to share. The floor is yours and then we'll chop it up with our other stuff right afterwards, and so thank you for being on today. It's such a pleasure to have you with us, and I can't wait to have this conversation.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much. I'm glad to be here, dr B, and just to introduce myself first and foremost. My name is Dr Naeem Turner-Bendelli. I am the son of two great parents, one of whom was a guest on your show a few months ago, nathaniel Turner. I'm a friend to many and a mentor to others. I'm also an engineer, researcher and entrepreneur. I run an energy research consulting firm called Latimer Enterprises Enterprises, and my work with Latimer Enterprises, which is named after Lewis Howard Latimer, focuses on helping individuals, businesses and communities take back control of how they power their lives, especially in places where energy has been unreliable, unaffordable or just complicated to manage.
Speaker 1:I have a PhD in electrical and computer engineering and an MBA, but I think what's most shaped where I am today was a journey that I took over 10 years ago. I wanted to go play professional soccer, wanted to pursue that dream, and so I went off to live in Brazil, and while living in Brazil I was at an academy there, and at that academy I noticed just how unreliable electricity and energy could be at times. So there would be some days where the academy I was at would have power and the surrounding community would not, or the community would have power and my academy wouldn't, because it ran on a generator, and that really drew my attention to issues related to energy access, affordability and disparities in energy. So from then on, that's been part of my life's mission to empower people with energy and ensure that it's independent, safe and affordable. I'm also the author of two children's books that inspire early interest in STEM and helped found some nonprofits as well, so that's a little bit about me as we get into it.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. Well, because I did get to talk to your dad and your dad told all about your upbringing and all the things that he had in mind for you. So I've been so excited about having this conversation because, you know, it's one perspective to say this is what my son is going to be or this is what your parents your mom and dad said. Ok, so we know he's going to go to an Ivy League school, so we know we're going to make sure that he's so well-rounded and he's got all these things.
Speaker 2:But then sometimes for a child, you know, there's obviously doing what mom and dad say to do and all the things they do. But at the same time you're looking at other kids that probably don't have the same, I guess, future that is being placed upon them and it might seem I don't know, and you're going to tell us right here. It might seem like, well, how come I don't get to just go play and hang out and how come I got to do all this other stuff? What was it like growing up in the Turner household?
Speaker 1:up in the Turner household.
Speaker 1:Growing up in the Turner household was great and I'm not just saying that because I'm sure both my parents will listen to this, but no, in all honesty, it was great.
Speaker 1:I had a lot of freedom to decide what I wanted to do and how I'd like to go about doing things, especially as it related to what would be my professional pursuits, my academic pursuits. I think that my dad outlined the framework pretty clearly, but certainly within that framework, I shaped my own decisions. I think if you were to ask both my parents and you ask them, hey, would you have expected your son to be an engineer and to start his own company? I don't think either one of them would have said yes, and that was explicitly part of their plan. But I certainly think that they gave me the freedom to learn, grow and develop, but also provided structure in which I could succeed, provided a template for me to succeed and, I think, just as importantly, they made sure I was aware of all of the opportunities available in front of me and the people who come before me, who achieved as much, if not more, than me and endured much harder struggles than I had, and which also helped inspire me and propel me forward.
Speaker 2:Gotcha what you know. As you're thinking through that, what are some of your favorite memories of things and experiences that you got to do? Memories of things and experiences that you got to do, I guess maybe some that you'd be able to brag about that say you know I got to do this and you didn't get to do it, or you know things that you just remember that you were able to do or being exposed to. That continues to help you today.
Speaker 1:I would say there are a number of things. So when I was in high school, I started a foundation called the Social Justice League and my parents helped me start that nonprofit, and it was initially spurred about because a friend of mine was experiencing homelessness. A soccer teammate of mine was experiencing homelessness. A soccer teammate of mine was experiencing homelessness, and so having the opportunity to start that foundation was something that was unique and that my parents supported me throughout, and it taught me a lot about how to run your own business, how to tackle issues that are important, how to ensure that you care about others and do well by others.
Speaker 1:I think some other things I think back on that are part of my childhood would also be the fact that I got to go to Brazil, like I mentioned in the introduction, that I got to have that opportunity to say, hey, I will have this dream of playing professional soccer. How do I do it? Well, you know, my parents helped me figure that out. My dad was the one who hired a virtual assistant to help him because he knew nothing about you know, international soccer. So he helped virtual assistant, helped him figure out where are the places I can send my son. How can I do that? So those are certainly opportunities that I had. That, I think, definitely informed who I am today and had a sizable impact.
Speaker 2:When I think about, like world football or you know football, or you know what we call soccer, you know, brazil always seems to be some of the best athletes soccer players, football players in the entire world. What was it like to be able to play at that level with those types of athletes? And maybe it was the same as in the us, I don't know. Uh, no, no, it was not, not the same, not the same at all.
Speaker 1:Uh, it was completely and entirely different. It's just, it's another level of quality, certainly the players, but I think something you also come to understand is there's another level of drive and ambition, because for many of the people that I played with, this was their way out of poverty, out of very difficult situations, poverty out of very difficult situations. So this was their way of finding success. And so when you play in an environment like that, the competitiveness goes up an additional level and you find yourself having to prove yourself, because these people are seeing you, coming here, thinking you have no idea, you know our struggle, you have no appreciation for what this game really means to us, and so you have to be humble, and so our our struggle. You have no appreciation for what this game really means to us, and so you have to have to be to be humble. And so there's a huge, huge difference when you go there, um, both culturally and in terms of the quality of the play.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. Well, you know, as I think about, you know, just the, even the, the stardom or the, um, but even the stardom or the, I don't want to say, as people love, love their sport of soccer, like here in America. I mean, I guess football is, you know, american football is this sport that everybody kind of relates to. But then the other sports, maybe baseball, kind of just kind of take second seats because we have so many different choices.
Speaker 2:And I remember when I was, when I was able to travel to Europe as a track athlete is, you know, there might be you know, 20, 30, 40,000 people in the stands. There might be a thousand people that are standing up just to watch the events, you know, and so I know that's like that in Brazil, where when you show up to play, it's not like you know here, where you know you might fill half of a stadium or you know people got other stuff to do, a lot of no-shows, empty seats. What was that like as an athlete and the change from what you experienced here compared to like your identity and your mindset, because you have this identity of. You know, I'm achieving all these things and athletics is one of them, and now I'm playing at the highest level you know in athletics in a foreign country. How did you deal with what that meant?
Speaker 1:It was definitely. It was difficult. It took me, I did months of preparation before I left. So, to give your listeners more context, I left for Brazil, for Sao Paulo, brazil, to go play there in August of 2012. Doing visualization, doing work on my soccer skills, my football skills, but when I got there it was an entirely different experience to have to adapt, like I said earlier, to those cultural differences, to having to reach an even higher level. So certainly, hey, it's.
Speaker 2:Dr B, and let me ask you something just here real quick. Are you tired of doing the same thing over and over and not getting the results you want? Are you serious about making some changes this year that will impact you in a huge way? Maybe you're putting out content right now and it's not turning into customers. Or maybe you're uploading videos but you're not sure why or how it's even going to help. You know, I've seen a lot of people that are making a whole bunch of cold calls to the wrong people and no one's answering. No one wants to talk to you. It might just be that you're just doing what you've been doing and crossing your fingers, hoping it finally works this year, but let me tell you what. That is not a strategy and it will continue not to work.
Speaker 2:That's why I created the podcasting challenge and it's coming up fast. In just a few days, I'm going to walk you through the mindset, the tool set and the skill set you need to create a powerful podcast. That's right, a podcast. You won't believe what a podcast can do, one that builds real value and creates new clients. And if you grab a vip ticket, you'll get to join me for a daily zoom q a sessions where I'll personally answer your questions and help you tailor everything to your goals. This is your moment. This is your year. Go to thepodcastingchallengecom right now and save your seat. The link is in the show notes and the description. Thank you for watching these podcasts. Now let's get back to the conversation.
Speaker 1:I had to, I had to adapt and I think the ways in which I adapted were learning from the people I was around and trying to integrate myself as much in in their culture and realizing that, um, the only way I was going to reach that next level was by, um, being a little bit less like me and taking a little bit less from what I learned in America and taking a little bit more what I could learn from them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I certainly think that was one of the ways in which I adapted. I think it, in terms of how it impacted my sense of identity, I would say that it reinforced that entire experience, reinforced who I am and helped add different layers and nuances to who I am. I mentioned kind of earlier that one of the experiences I got to have earlier in my life was to start a foundation. So that certainly meant that I had awareness of causes and was aware of history and importance. But I think being away from from family, from community, reinforces your, helps to reinforce your sense of identity in a, especially in a place like like Brazil and places that I was at.
Speaker 2:I'd love to ask you when we start talking about identity and talking about the family you grew up in, because your parents obviously had an identity that they had for you. Now I know you had, you know, some freedom of choice to the things that you wanted to do, but they still had an identity that they kind of expected that you would have At what point in your I guess you know overall, you know timeline, did you? Did your identity become solely yours? Maybe it never has, but you know where it became more yours than it was theirs.
Speaker 1:I would venture to say pretty early on in my life, because there are certain habits that I had as a child that they just didn't have even as adults. I mean, I think some of the things I remember are my dad wanting to go just hang out and play and do things outside. And I said, dad, I have homework to do. And I'm like seven or eight years old, I have homework to do. I need to get my work done first before I do anything else. That was never something. You know. They I mean they certainly instilled the value importance of getting work done, but I mean no one's ever telling me to do that, shaping my identity in that way. That came intrinsically from me, I would say pretty early on. Those things started to emerge as early as like seven or eight years old and was only reinforced over time as I had, you know, my own experiences. Um, and I think fundamentally it was, it was I was fully in my own by the time I left to go to Brazil. So that's 16, 17 yeah, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:So there's a drive to achieve that you have. I mean, you don't play at the highest level of soccer, you don't get a PhD, you don't start a foundation, you don't know when. Do you think that comes from, that drive to just be more? You know when I think of be, do, have and trying to become the person you need to be. Talk to me a little bit about your drive, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think part of that certainly comes from my parents and who they are as people.
Speaker 1:I mean they're both very high achieving people who have come from very difficult environments and overcome a lot in order to achieve.
Speaker 1:So I think just knowing them and knowing, being aware of their history and who they are certainly had an impact on that drive. But I would say another part of it for me comes from having a broader understanding of history and culture, having an understanding of people like Lewis Howard Latimer, who I've named my company after, who are inspirations to me, and knowing that if these people did these really difficult things and I certainly can too, and and I have so many more tools available to me that there's no reason I shouldn't get them done, there's no reason I shouldn't aim for more. And then I would say the last piece for me that shapes that drive is knowing that there are so many challenges in the world and that I'm so blessed to have the education and the skill set and the tools that I have that I have no other choice but to give back to my community and to empower others and to do more. So I would say those are definitely the three drivers.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, when I think of you know the environment and the experiences that you had. And then I think of the you know the associations that you've been able to be a part of. How do you think those experiences and those associations have helped you like in the person that you are today? I mean, were there certain people that you know you were able to meet that that just, oh man, I can't you know. Or the you know being able to travel and do some of the things that you were, you know, younger in life be able to do? How has that shaped how you see the world?
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure, I would say that how I see the world is shaped as much by the experiences as, if not more, by the people that have been in my life, that have been a part of my village, like Dr Willie Underwood, who I think you've also had on as a guest. Man, that dude's no joke.
Speaker 2:So you can understand how that might also.
Speaker 1:He might also shape me as well. His ideology of kick-ass dick games is certainly part of me. His ideology of kick-ass dick games is certainly part of me. People like Dr Bernudi, my godmother, also been influential in shaping my life. I think that professors I've had over the years, once I got to college and beyond, certainly had an impact. And then I would say, another organization that has had a huge impact on my life is the National Society of Black Engineers, which I got to be in the regional and national leadership board, to sit on a national board for the first time in my life. So that was a fantastic experience that certainly shaped my identity as well. All of those people who poured into me in both as individuals or through organizations. But you know, organizations are made up of people, individuals. So all of those people pouring into me certainly helped shape me.
Speaker 2:Wow, and just you know, I'm thinking about you know that identity and I'm thinking about those experience and the people that you're around, um, and then I think about trust. You know, and, and how important trust is, to be able to trust that you're going to be able to do the things or you'll be able to walk in the places that you need to walk in. And you know, like you go to brazil, it's this country, like you said, you had to do some pre-stuff so that you would know how to navigate yourself. You and you got a virtual assistant. Um, how big of uh, the word trust, or being able to trust to be able to move forward, has that played in your life? Or do you just go into situations and you trust everybody first and they don't have to prove themselves later, or they have to kind of prove themselves?
Speaker 1:No, not, not at all. I think if you asked any friend a friend of mine I'm certainly someone who likes to have trust, but I verify, and I verify pretty rigorously, you know, to be able to go into the spaces I've gone into, yeah, absolutely, I think at a first level you have to have some, some trust, otherwise, if you're not opening yourself up to part of the experience, then you're never going to get anything out of it. I had to trust that at the base level, that the, for example, the people in Brazil that I was going to play with, that, who were coaching me, um, had my best interest in some level. And then, you know, over time, I let them, I had my own internal metrics and I let them prove it to me if they they did or did not actually. And so I think that, yeah, trust is an essential part of what I do. Verifying, importantly, is most essential. People's actions, not just words. Their actions have to show me that there should be that trust.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. So when you say verify, it just reminds me of an engineer person and you can tell I'm not that, I'm just this outgoing, just there's hardly anything that's super methodical. I mean, I get stuff done, but I'm imagining are you you're not married yet, right? No, okay, yeah so. So I'm thinking of, like, the person that you date and the list of things that they have to be in order for them to go out. Does that list exist? And then, what are some of those things that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, one. That list does not exist. I'm pretty focused on my goals at the moment, so you, know, there's no list at the moment, but I can tell you when that day comes. Yes, the list will probably be extensive.
Speaker 2:I can see. I can just see like a applications that are out there that you have to have. Okay, yeah, we can do this, because to have somebody so driven and kind of know what you know, what their future is and what their life, what are some of the things that you believe that you're? Maybe I should ask you this first, is you know the meaning of your name is? Do you have a specific meaning of your name that you're, that you know? Your parents decided this is the name because they seem to be kind of very. Your parents decided this is the name because they seem to be kind of very, you know, methodical as well in these things, and they don't do things. From my perspective, I don't see them just doing things haphazardly. They think about just about everything they do before they do it. So I'm assuming your name has some meaning and then fulfilling whatever that is. And then the future for you. Kind of. Just walk me through what that kind of looks like.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. My name, full name, naeem Kahari Turner Bondelli. So Naeem means benevolent Kahari means kingly and Bondelli means born away from home. So put it all together benevolent king, born away from home. And that absolutely is part of my identity. It is a driver. It does shape me in the sense that it is a constant reminder of who I am and who I'm supposed to be.
Speaker 1:I don't see my name as a burden or anything in that nature. It's always a challenge, a reminder of who I am supposed to be, and whenever I am lost or doubting myself, it's something that I can always remind myself. Like you are supposed to be, this benevolent king Born from home, you have a duty to others beyond yourself. That is all part of it and it definitely shapes where I'm going. Next, it shapes the work I'm doing with the company I started. It's why the mission of the company is to empower people with energy solutions. It's not empower. The mission doesn't say empower businesses or empower objects or infrastructure with energy solutions. It's about people. So all of that is tied to my name as well.
Speaker 2:Born away from home. Yes, talk to me about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, born away from home. So Bondeli and I learned more recently how to say it correctly, because it's actually Nigerian. I learned that from one of my best friend's dad who's Nigerian and taught me that it's about staying connected to. For me, actually, it's two parts. It's about staying connected to my history, so being a descendant of slaves, being descendant of people from the African continent, it's about staying connected to that, but it's also about, um, staying connected to a much larger legacy of of success, of greatness, people who were all born away from home. Just like, just like I was, people in black people in this country who were born away from home and ended up going on to do amazing things and becoming inventors, designers, artists, leaders, historians, you name it. So it's both, I would say. At the core, it's about legacy, but it's also about that larger history of enslavement what?
Speaker 2:what do you feel? Your responsibility as a black man that is, you know, part of the american culture is within that, you know, born away from home but then still has responsibilities to achieve some of the greatest things that man has seen. That, how do you feel? How do I talk?
Speaker 1:about the responsible yeah responsibility yeah, um, it feels uh good to me. It feels empowering to know that I have I have a responsibility to other people. Um, I think that it it's a driver, it's. It certainly forms part of my own, my own personal mission. It makes me excited to get up every day to know I have something to do, responsibility to someone else beyond myself. It's a motivator.
Speaker 2:We talk so much about culture and Black culture or culture of folks of color, culture from people who are white, or you know culture of folks of color, you know culture from people who are right. When you think, how was your I guess identity inside of this culture formed that although you see, or you, I mean, you cannot not see what's happening in America and continue to see all the things that are happening here and then know you know the history and I'm sure you've learned the history and your parents talked to you about the history and then like I guess it's like where we fit in and then saying, man, do you feel like you know? I guess I don't know if it's just a responsibility to help other folks of color or to just help everybody, or is it just like there's this proudness that I'm, I'm here and I'm doing what needs to be done? I mean, I just want to kind of kind of find your space that's in the inside of the culture sure I speak to the responsibility piece first.
Speaker 1:I would say that there's certain I I feel responsible both to people who look like me black and brown people but I also feel responsibility to the wider groups of people who don't have same access or opportunities that I got to grow up with, because I think that Hello, this is Dr B and I want to ask you one simple question what if you died, having never become you Now?
Speaker 2:I don't mean the version of you that worked the job, raised the kids or chased security. I mean the person God actually designed you to be, the real you, because there's a version of your life that's already been written and it's full of peace, it's full of boldness, it's full of purpose and, of course, it's full of power. But most people, many people, they miss it. They live distracted, doubting, disconnected and deep down, they wonder is this really all there is? But not you, and not today. That's why we created the Becoming a Person universe. It's a living, breathing community of people saying I want to be who God called me to be, not someday, but right now. So inside, we'll walk you through three levels of transformation. Level one is all about identity, where you finally see yourself clearly and know exactly who you are and who you need to become. Level two is about mastery, where we develop the disciplines to grow. And then, finally, level three is legacy, where your life begins to matter beyond you. And hear me, I want you to hear me clear here this is not a place to passively belong. This is a place to grow, lead and thrive. We even have ways want you to hear me clear here. This is not a place to passively belong. This is a place to grow, lead and thrive. We even have ways for you to share in the revenue as we grow, because we believe in building legacy together.
Speaker 2:And I want you to know, the founders and I are praying for you. We have been praying for me. You have been on our hearts. Yes, you have been on our hearts. You're not watching this by accident, and I want to personally invite you to the next info meeting where we will go over all this community has to offer. All you do is just click the link before you know what to do.
Speaker 2:But now it's your turn. I want to ask you to ask yourself what if this is the moment everything changes? Is the moment everything changes? What if this is the reason you've been searching? What if all God has been waiting for is for you to say yes, there's a seat for you here, whether you're rediscovering yourself or finally ready to leave a legacy and are ready to contribute Either way and are ready to contribute Either way. This is the becoming the person universe, and once you're in your life will never be the same. So I can't wait to meet you. I can't wait to spend time with you. I can't wait to see you on the other side. So let's go live in that purpose and let's do it together.
Speaker 1:In order for the American society to move forward, we need to be able to empower all people, of all races and creeds and all socioeconomic statuses in order to move forward as a society. So I certainly feel responsibility, first and foremost to my people, but I also feel responsibility to that wider human community, because that's both. That's in part how I was raised.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, well, you know, for me it's hard to tell, because I think of the social economic divide that you just kind of talked about. And when I see, you know, folks that you know educationally maybe been disadvantaged or just haven't had the opportunities or don't have haven't been able to see or know how to take advantage of the opportunities that are afforded to us, the folks that kind of still live in impoverished but don't have goals and ambitions of like homeownership or you know better jobs that you know, it's like this is all I can be. And then they, you know, that's why we're having a show, right, so they can see other folks that are doing things. And then, but you know, the overall is, yeah, I mean by being that or by doing all the things that you're doing, you're kind of an inspiration, right. You're somebody who says, man, if only I could. And then it's like, well, what if I mess that up?
Speaker 2:You know, I think of somebody and I don't know, like PDD's situation, right, I see all the nonsense that is on there and I see all the fake stuff that shows up. But I look at, you know, he's done so much. But then I look at, well, man, if he was really doing all those things he was doing. He was hurting some folks right, hurting a whole lot of people in a whole lot of ways and taking advantage of a whole lot of people in a whole lot of ways. And you know, was that for the love of money or was that for? And you know, was that for the love of money or was that for? And then I think about OK, how do we circumvent that, that fame or that, that spotlight that so many of well, I don't know so many of us, but what we normally see in our culture is, you know, these athletes or these actors or these entertainers that become our role models, but they're still human and they're still flawed.
Speaker 1:So maybe talk to me a little bit about the dichotomy there. I think that, first off, I think we historically are looking at some of the wrong role models and I would say, especially in our modern culture, we don't look enough to, to our, to our much, our, much better inspirations, uh like, like again, I've mentioned lewis latimer a few times now. But like lewis latimer, who was uh, who, whose parents were uh enslaved and escaped slavery, who went on to uh have multiple engineering patents to be the foundation of things like part of establishing things like the light bulb and the telephone, who's also an art, an artist as well, a musician. So I think that that's a part of the problem. And when we look to and we think about role models like that, those were not, you know, the people who were interested in the fame and fortune, fortune and the success they were empowered by, about doing better for their communities. I mean, mr Latimer was part of the civil rights, the early civil rights movement.
Speaker 1:So I think those are the types of role models we have to look to in terms of balancing that dichotomy, you know, achieving success and then also not essentially not losing yourself along the way, if we're to believe that you know PW did all of those awful things, maybe lost himself along the way. I think that the way in which we do that one involves knowing our own history. Two, remembering that we have we've talked a lot about responsibility, remembering that we have a responsibility to more than just ourselves. And it's much harder to lose yourself when you believe that the person you're responsible to is not just you and you actually realize that it's a much larger community, that it is the black community, it is the larger community of humanity. So I think those are ways you avoid entering into that trap, how you balance that dichotomy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's so good because it's you know it is. It's finding where you fit in and then trying to increase our level of, I guess, awareness of possibilities.
Speaker 1:Sure, when you talk about faith.
Speaker 2:Talk to me a little bit about your belief system, and does that drive you in any way or?
Speaker 1:I would say this I was raised as a Christian and that certainly informs how I do believe in God, certainly informs how I think about what is possible with me and when I might have times of doubt, I certainly do go to God, think about God. I think about God as well in terms of how you know the creation of the universe. I think about God when I'm doing, when I see marvels of engineering or see marvels of the world and think like, how did people come up with those things? Well, they got inspiration in part from the world around them which was built by a creator. So certainly it plays I would say it plays a role in my life.
Speaker 2:Oh good, I mean, it's just sometimes, when you have somebody who is so intellectual as you is, they struggle to, you know, find that space and that you know, is there a creator? Is there not a creator? And to see that that is something that you have as part of who you are, to me is neat that we get to see that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think we have space for things that simply can't be explained and certainly are just marvels of our world, and I know some people have different ways of going about how they'd like to explain those. That's one of the ways I think about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well then, like Michelangelo, just say just as you're looking at, my hand tells me that there's a God, and when I start thinking of, like a horse can only be a horse and a dog can only be a horse, but God created man to be, to create our creativity, that that part of Him was put into all of us, and then we have to take whatever that he gave us, and then that goes to living in purpose. And when you think about, you know, is it possible?
Speaker 2:and I can tell by your life for this answer, but I'll let you answer it is it possible to live in God's purpose or in purpose period without serving others live in God's purpose or in purpose period without serving others?
Speaker 1:I don't think so. I don't know how you do that without serving others. You know I attended Jesuit institutions for most of my academic career. My undergraduate degree is from a university called Santa Clara University, jesuit institution and mission is about serving others and do that to help all of God's people. So I don't think it is possible.
Speaker 2:When I think about and thank you for that, because it is when I think about personal development and working on ourselves compared to the distractions that can happen in life, and when I think of distractions to me. Some of the distractions that you know may not be for others would be some of the entertainment stuff that I could spend my time on. I mean, I could come home every day, I could turn on the television and I could be super distracted. Every day I could turn on the television and I could be super distracted. I could. When I think of like knowing more about an NFL player or a baseball player than I know about my own kids. You know, I think that could be a distraction and I know people are like that. You know, I think of some of the, just the ways that we hang out. How, how do we? I guess my question is is how do we Get away from those, some of those distractions, and then how much of our time should be spent on working on us so that we can have the ability to serve others?
Speaker 1:That's a tough question how do we get away from the distractions? I'll start there first. I think that one of the ways to get away from them is to start by choosing better distractions. So we're humans, we all need downtime, away time, things to occupy our time and attention. So I think for me what that looks like is I watch a lot of movies, but I don't spend necessarily all of my time on things that won't necessarily inform me. I like to watch things that I think might challenge me, that might do something artistically, that might make me think differently about the work that I do or the work that other people do. So that's certainly one of the things I think we can do generally just choose, try to choose better distractions, things that might be I won't say productive, but things that might allow us more space to think about ourselves and how we grow and develop. And then remember the second part of your question. I want to make sure I get to it.
Speaker 2:Personal development. So how much time in working on us should we spend? Maybe even before we take on some of the distractions, maybe we should spend time developing ourselves, and then yeah, I think that, um, we certainly have to make that a part of your life.
Speaker 1:I think, at least least weekly. For me, what that looks like is, um, they, I listen, try to listen to, uh, podcasts or audiobooks or read things that might help me, you know, become a better person, and one of the things I've had to really learn over the years, for example, is how to relax a bit more. We've talked a lot about my ambition and drive, but that certainly comes. There's another part of that where I can stress myself out and I don't relax well. So one of the ways in which I've tried to do better, personally improve, is read and listen to a book called Don't Swat Small Stuff Do that pretty much daily, and reading and listening to that audio book helps remind me of different practices I can take, whether it's related to breathing or meditation, anything like that that I can know I can still.
Speaker 1:I can still be better. I can find ways to overcome any difficulties I may be having. I mean going back to my childhood as well. A big thing that I used to do and I would say I still do, at least on a regular basis is visualization. I like to visualize where my life could be and where it could go. I like to make vision boards, so I think you have to find time to incorporate those types of activities into your life, at least weekly. You can start small. You can start by reading a chapter of a very short book like Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.
Speaker 2:Or it can be much larger and grander, like making a vision board yeah, that's so good and I don't want to take away and tell people you shouldn't be entertained, or you know, no, no, I think of you know there's so many to see the greatness and what a man or humankind when I say man, men and are capable of doing.
Speaker 2:And whether it's going to a concert you know I went to a Sting concert a few weeks ago or I went to you know, of course I'm going to go to that stuff.
Speaker 2:I'm going to go to a football game, I'm going to go to a basketball game, I'm going to, you know, just marvel in man, the athletic ability and what it must have taken, the tens and thousands of hours that it took that individual. Or if I go to a museum and I see art, that's just like incredible and that kind of stuff and I want to celebrate that. And so when I say these things, I hope that the folks that are listening don't think well, I got to take all that out of my life? Absolutely not.
Speaker 2:But I think there's a where, if you're not working on you, then you kind of said these other things are more important, or take the precedence over me, trying to be what God intended me to be or to take that purpose that he put into my life. If I get so much into it, you know I can't imagine and I know people do it to sit at a sports bar in Vegas and you know watch 19 different sports every afternoon, all day long. You know, trying to bet and losing a whole bunch of money.
Speaker 2:Well, I don't know that, God. You know, maybe the casino would be mad at me, but I don't think God intended us to sit at sports bars all day long, every day.
Speaker 2:Somehow, you know, or the entertainment of the possibilities of being able to, you know, make stuff happen in that way. Just a quick question that I have, I mean, as I guess all of these are quick questions and I don't know what are some of the things that you actually do for fun, that are, you know, not the things that are driving you to move forward, but some of the ways that you take your downtime and then you experience life to its fullest. What are some of those things?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I mean, I think you've already mentioned a few of them. So right now I live in New Jersey, live in Jersey City, but for those who know, that's right across the Hudson from New York City, from Manhattan. So I spend quite a bit of time in Manhattan in my downtime. These days I love to go visit museums, I love to go look at art, learn about history, learn about culture. That's one of the big ways I like to spend my time.
Speaker 1:Another huge part of my downtime is going to see at least one movie every week, something that I can, in particular, seeing a movie by myself. Usually I like to just have that space yes, usually like to have that space just for me to experience what's in front of me, to watch someone who's done something incredibly creative and experience what, what they designed for their creation, whether that's a bombastic blockbuster and indie art house film. So those are two of the things I like to do with with my free time. And the last thing I like to do quite a bit is is exercise. So go for runs, work out in the gym. That's great way for me to to relax and just enjoy myself that's cool, I saw.
Speaker 2:I saw a movie last night. It was called straw oh my gosh it's yeah, it was.
Speaker 2:It's one of those movies where you have no idea that the ending is going to happen the way that it does. It's one that draws you in emotionally and I think I watch movies differently now because there's a formula that Hollywood uses Right there's the protagonist and there's the. You know, it's just that person has to have bad things happen in their life and then they spend the whole movie figuring it out and then at the end you rejoice, uh. But sometimes you have movies that are just you just go. Oh my gosh, whoever wrote this just had one of those minds. But but it does. It dug deep into our. You know the culture that, um, I see when somebody's struggling, like the young lady who is in there is a single mom who's trying to raise a child that doesn't have enough income, and she goes to work and the boss is screaming with her and then the school's calling her and then somebody runs into her. I mean, everything that can happen in a day happens in a day. Somebody runs into her. I mean everything that can happen in a day, you know, happens in a day, but but it's just one of those that you go, ok, this was, this was worth the time that I spent watching this movie and, like you said, it goes back to the culture part of this. Yeah, I would love to do that. I got some, a little bit of time with you because you're, like, one of the smartest people that I know and so I'm designing and this is just me totally being 100% selfish while we're on this call Okay, all right, so I am starting a community because I think relationship is so important, and so I'm going to launch it on July 4th and kind of independent and it's going to be called Become the Person.
Speaker 2:Universe is what I'm calling this community, because I want people to be able to come inside and become and there's some things that I I want to make sure that happens. I want people to be able to teach some classes that are you're part of the community and you get to learn. Maybe it's about taxes or you know some of the you know, uh, you know how to draw, how to do. You know some of the things that sometimes we don't get on YouTube. I mean, I know YouTube's, all these how-to things, but more about how do I become like I want to have like a book clubs. I want to have prayer time I want to have, you know, exercise clubs.
Speaker 2:I want to do a, you know, I guess it's like airtime thing, where you know people can get together and just create a community that talks about things that are going on in life that they're excited about, and you know that'll have like a speed, almost like a speed dating type five minutes here, then go into a room that you know it comes from that. I want to have other entrepreneurs and other people who have businesses and you know, maybe talk about energy and what it means and that kind of stuff. You know, and I guess my question to you, as we do this and helping people become the person that they've been designed to be, what would be some of maybe two or three things that you want to make sure that my community has that you believe that not only would attract folks to come there, but then would help them in their journey?
Speaker 1:Okay, two or three things that would attract folks and help them with their journey. I would say there has to be a way to you mentioned courses. There has to be a way to learn along with the instructor in a way that's interactive. I think a lot of times in virtual learning environments it becomes much more of a lecture and less of an interactive style classroom. So I think you have to find ways to keep things interactive, whether that's through having polls or having ways for people to, let's say, if I'm drawing something on the board, if I'm asking somebody to solve some sort of problem, that they also have a way to show me what they've come up with before I give the answer or I give the solution.
Speaker 1:So that interactivity piece would be big for me. And the second thing I think about when it comes to community is there has to be a good way to to net, to really network with people. I know we have linkedin and other things these days, but I don't ever really feel like I get to know people through linkedin. It's always like the best ways I actually get to know them is like just through a, through a conversation or an in-person interaction. So maybe if there are ways you can and incentivize people who are live near one another to be able to get out into the real world and interact with one another or, like you mentioned earlier, to be able to have those short five-minute chats. I think that would be great as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the air meets are super important. Part Connection is one of the whole sections that I want people to be able to have, those conversations. I want you to say it's a Friday night and we have these little quick. You know we'll go. It's a 90 minute deal and we have, you know, a half hour of it or just five minute interactions with people, but then really have some rooms around a discussion topic. You know, let's say it's energy and get to know people, or we just say it's just around getting to know each other. Where it's like you just take it, there's, there's no thing. Another thing that I want to have in there is is ask an expert. You know I want to. I want to bring experts in where, whatever the topic is, that people will be able to communicate, maybe for an hour with that, you know, with an expert, where there's maybe it's 10 minute, you know questions and answers back and forth and move on to another person, but to really be able to ask somebody who's been doing it for a long time.
Speaker 2:Like if I want to ask an expert about what is it like to play soccer in Brazil at that level that you would be a person that would be able to come on there and say this is my experience, because it's more of the you know, talking about the experience, and this is just like you said, the, the interact. You know, hey, I'm just a talking head and I'm going to tell you, and then you took this class and you walk away and go OK, great, I still don't know. You know, because when we talk about becoming, it's like there's got to be a whole bunch of wise in there, there's got to be a whole bunch of. This changed my life because type things, you know.
Speaker 2:You know some of the books that we all want to have book clubs. You know some of the best book. I'd love to have children's books as part of it. You know that's a cheaper to have it. So thank you for thank you for that feedback. Like I said, that was just totally me being selfish and wanting to make probably the best, the best platform that I possibly can for people to connect and become.
Speaker 1:Amazing. Well, I look forward to seeing this platform brought to life.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Let's talk about the children's book a little bit. So what made you? You don't have children. You know you've been a child. So what made you? You don't have children? You know you've been a child, you know, but you know when you when. Usually, when you see people who write children's books, right, it's usually from experiences that they've had, you know, either as a child or because they watch their kids and all the things that your kids do. What inspired you to start with children's books? And you know, not an engineering book?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I would say that every book has come from me hearing about or seeing a problem in the world and thinking about what are the ways in which I could tackle it and convey it and, I think, most importantly, convey it to the next generation of people who can hopefully be better than me, better than you, better than all who came before them. And so the three books the very first was called what Are we Going to Do Today, and that came out in 2015. And I started working on that in 2013. And that emerged from at the time there was a study about a literacy word gap, a word gap related to young children, and that they essentially didn't know as many words as other children by a certain age. I think there's been some part of that study has been debunked, but I think the core message still matters. It was about this gap in children's literacy, and the important things that we know contribute to improving literacy are being active and engaged with your child. So what are we going to do today? Had something for a parent and a child to do together. One thing for each week in the year, split up by seasons, and so it was a way for say, hey, if you're a parent, these were. They're all low cost or no cost things that you can go do together that can have an impact on your child's life, improve their literacy, but also, just, we've talked a lot about possibilities, but open up different possibilities to them, so that was where what Are we Going to Do Today came from.
Speaker 1:Then, the Amazing World of STEM series first originated, really, with my dad. He had this idea for a character called STEM, based on my life, and I wouldn't say he'd been trying to get me to work on it with him for his going back to at least 2018. It might have been earlier than that, though. That, though, and so, but it wasn't really until the pandemic uh emerged and I was at home that the, the issues in which stem as a character, would be really even more relevant.
Speaker 1:We saw in 2020 we I mean, saw every issue under the sun and we saw just a better, a need to recognize that the importance of community and the importance of being able to solve problems using some of the next generation things that are coming for us like those, all involve knowing, science, technology, engineering and math, and so, with the amazing Rostem, we set out to convey the importance of community, convey the importance of having a diverse community, not just in terms of race, but in terms of viewpoints and ideologies, and being able to have children who lived in that community. You know, the central characters in the Amazing World of STEM series are children who go about solving different global challenges using STEM, but also using the awareness that they have of their community, being empowered by their community. So that was where all each of those books came from.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for that. I mean that's and just writing those and being aware of the books are solving a problem. They're not just entertaining, which is really cool they can entertain, but solving a problem at the same time. Solving a problem, they're not just entertaining, which is which is really cool, they can entertain, but solving a problem at the same time is just is really cool. Man, this is. This conversation has gone so well, so quickly, but I want to know what didn't we talk about? I was selfish and asked my questions, but I want you to be able to tell everybody that has been watching the things that are on your heart, the things that you truly believe in or whatever you know, things that you would want us to know about it.
Speaker 1:Well, this was such a wide ranging conversation probably more wide ranging than I expected that I'm not sure what else I could expect. I mean, when I came in, did I expect to be asked about the meaning of my name? No, no, I don't. I don't think I did so. I feel like we had a a wide-ranging conversation that brought up, I think, everything um about me and who I am, about my upbringing, what I'm doing now. I guess I would just believe the audience was saying, um, that this was all how I got where I am was all intentional. It was, again the result of not just my own drive, but about people who poured into me and made sure that, um, that my life mattered, that they believe my life mattered and continue to believe my life matters, uh, and that I'm willing to do the same for somebody else who reaches out to me, because I believe it's that important for me to continue to give back to my community and ensure that the next generation does better than me.
Speaker 2:Wow, that is so cool. And when I think that they can get your books on.
Speaker 2:Amazon correct. They can go to Amazon and get them, and they're there. And STEM seems to be, you know, one of, at least the one your dad was telling me about that. I can't wait to get that one and read that one.
Speaker 2:But also, you know, what I would like to say is, well, I'd love to have you come back, but what I would even more like you know that we'll have the community is, maybe have you come back to the community and you know, as a guest speaker, as a, you know, as ask an expert or you know, so there's that interactive piece, or just you know, have you come in and just you know, show us some things that we could benefit from or we could learn from, and so I hope that you'll be willing to do that someday and do that. Perfect, and then. So this has been your first episode of this that you've watched. Not only am I going to ask you not to just even watch this one back, but to go watch Nahim's dad's interview, Nate Turner's interview, because that was it was so good as well, and then I can't wait to have your mom on, because I think I'm going to get to your mom, so that's going to be super fun to do.
Speaker 2:I she hadn't said yes yet, I haven't asked her yet, but you'll have to put in a little bit of word for me.
Speaker 2:Hey, you got to go on this, I can't wait to do the family affair on this one. But again, thank you. You know, subscribe, hit notifications. I promise you there is somebody in one of these episodes that absolutely can make your life, at least make you think about your life, and, if not, make it better as a result of the things you do, because you want to become a better person, and this is one of those, and I just thank you so much for being on. I know I asked you a whole wide range of stuff that you know you probably weren't expecting, but I promise all my guests I'm never going to ask you a question that you don't know the answer to, because pretty much all the questions are like their opinions on stuff. And so even if you know, even if they told us about their life and they made it up, there's no way I would know.
Speaker 2:Then their family would start saying well you did it, but it has been such a pleasure. This is an awesome show. I'm so glad. Like the day that your dad started talking about you, I was like I can't wait to have him on this show.
Speaker 2:I don't know how long it's going to be how long it's going to take to get him on. Now that I had you on it fulfilled all of the thought process that I had that it would, and it was so good and so wonderful. So thank you again for being on. What I want to tell you guys is don't forget that you're God's greatest gift. He loves you. If you allow him to, I want to say you can do this, let's go. I want to say let's grow, let's become all of those wonderful things. You're about to have a great day in every way. Do you have one last closing thought, nahim, that you would just love to end with?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm just going to say have a great day and thank you again so much for having me All right, we'll talk to you guys soon.
Speaker 2:You guys have, like I said, an amazing, incredible, awesome day, and we will see you in the community starting on July 4th, so look out for things that will show you all about it. Talk to you guys soon.