Episode 31 - Late Nights

Mastery doesn’t happen on the clock—it’s forged in the quiet grind of late nights. In this episode, Jeuse Kastoan reflects on the after-hours effort it takes to level up your art, your craft, or your calling. Whether you’re building a brand, chasing a dream, or perfecting a skill, it’s the time no one sees that sets you apart. This one’s for the creatives, the dreamers, and the workhorses burning the midnight oil.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

So for me, you know, when I used to play basketball all the time, because I haven't played in years at this point. It was a time where I used to play it all the time. There'll be nights where I would go to the gym at 10, 11 o'clock, sometimes midnight when I was in Houston. Hit up that 24-hour fitness. And I'd just be putting up shots.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

I mean, I was just shooting, working on moves. This, that, and the third.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

And I wouldn't leave the gym till about three, four o'clock, sometimes five in the morning. And all I was doing was just shooting. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

And those are the nights that really define you. Because those late nights is when you're putting in the work and practicing.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

So whenever game time actually comes, you can perform. This episode is called late nights. And when I speak about late nights, I'm talking about not just the literal sense of late nights, but the extra time that you spend on whatever craft that you have, whether it's art, whether it's work, whether it's anything. And you put in those extra hours to actually master whatever it is that you're trying to do. They say in order to master something, you need to put 10,000 hours in.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

There's only 24 hours in a day. So how are you gonna get those 10,000 hours? You gotta put in the work when you're off. Plain and simple. When you get off of work, you keep putting in that time and that effort.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

If you're at work, obviously you can't put in 10,000 hours. That's gonna be hard. But what you can do when there's downtime, because there's always downtime. That's when you spend your time to study, or that's when you spend that time to learn new things. And those new things that you learn, you ask for those responsibilities and you ask to try those things so you can get better at it and so you can master it. You keep doing that over and over and over and over again until it becomes second nature. Once it becomes second nature, change just becomes natural and you just do it whenever you feel like it. And not like I'm choosing to do this today, I'm not gonna choose to do this today. It's like whenever the issue or whatever that task needs to get done, you just step up and say, I got it, and just do it. And it's because you put in the time not just to learn, but you're putting in the time to do it over and over and over and over again until it's not hard for you, it's easy. You know where to find a file, you know where to send an email, you know where to do all that stuff. And if we're not talking about, you know, work, let's say we're talking about art. So I've been making music since I was in high school. That was 2000. Actually, that's a lot. I've been making music since middle school. I just didn't start releasing it until high school. So that's basically since like 2001, 2000. Been making it for all that time. You will probably never hear the stuff that I made in middle school. Because first off, I don't think I have all those songs. I do have some actually. I found those old discs and I take them on my computer just so I can ask in the trash. That was my music back then. But um, you know, I spent that time doing that, and when I got off of school, all I do is just work on beats or write songs. I wrote more than I made beats back in middle school. But then when I went to high school and Jay Snipes was really, really good at making beats, I was like, I'm gonna learn. So then, you know, I got the programs to do it, and then I just started making beats. They were trash. Yes, they were trash. But there's math they're trash. I was putting in the hours to get better. And then over time, if you listen to my music now, it sounds completely different. And I'm not just talking about like songs that I make over someone else's beats. I'm talking about like Dodo 2, Dodo, uh Hidden Peace, Dagamon Dreams. You listen to all those.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

I made all those beats on there. The beats that I made in high school are nothing compared to those beats.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

But that took time. That took years of practice, it took decades of practice, it took a lot of time for me just sitting on a computer and just grinding away and just making beats, finding samples, trying together, seeing how this sounds. Oh, that doesn't sound good like this. Let me do it this way. Okay, yeah, that sounds a lot better. Okay, I need to remember how I interpolated that sample to make it do this and do that, so it sounds good. Okay, I can take this and learn this uh technique that I use for this beat and use that for other beats if I ever want to make a certain type of beat. Well, now I know what type of beats I want to make and what type of beats I can make. Okay, now I know what my style is. Okay, I can make this style beat and this style beat. Like it just the over time, the more you do something, you learn it, and then you tailor it to yourself, but not just tailor it to yourself. You know when it works and when it doesn't work, and it becomes second nature to the point to where you're like, I want to make this kind of beat today. You just go and make that type of beat. It isn't gonna be uh, okay, I'm just gonna make beats today and see what I can come up with. Because you come up with a formula from doing it for so long that now you know and have the ear for the type of sound that you want to make and the style in which you want to make it. Now, this isn't about music. This uh episode is not about music. But I'm just saying that to say that the more time you put in on whatever you're doing, whether it's work, whether it's your craft, whether it's art, like whatever it is, whether it's sports, it doesn't matter. The more time you put in, once you get the basics down, once you get the fundamentals down, and you understand that, that's when you naturally will expand to other stuff within that realm, and you'll just get better and be able to do things that you weren't able to do before when you first started. And it just continues on like that. If you're talking about work, the more you do stuff, you start to encounter situations where people haven't done this before. So they don't know how it works. That's only because you saw whatever issue might have been there, and you're like, ask someone, like, hey, so I noticed this. Is that supposed to do that? Or like, is there something we're supposed to handle that? They've never encountered that issue before, so they don't know. But now you just brought up something that they're gonna learn and you're gonna learn. Because you noticed it from doing it for so long that you're like, this seems irregular. When it comes to working, when it comes to doing something to better yourself or improve on your craft, you gotta remember that it's gonna be a long road. It's gonna be a long journey.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

It's not gonna be simple, it's not gonna be quick.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Not at all. Because some people are naturally gifted. Yes, it's true. Some people are naturally gifted, and they can just do things, and they'll be good at it, and they'll just keep improving on it from that point on. The only thing is, sometimes when you're naturally good at something, you don't push yourself as much because you're like, oh, yeah, this is easy. This ain't hard. I got this, this is whatever. And it doesn't really pique your interest because it's not challenging you. The people who tend to really succeed and really excel are those who don't really have natural gifts. It's just those that work hard to make themselves good at whatever particular thing they're trying to do. They didn't have any background in it, they didn't have anyone mentoring them. They were just like, oh, this seems interesting, let me try it. They realized they weren't good at it, but they were still trying, they're still driven to keep going because it interested them to them is something that they're not good at and they're trying to figure it out. And then, you know, if you're like me, if you can't figure something out, you kind of keep going at it until you understand it and until you figure it out. And then once you figure it out, yeah, you'll become good. But then when you've spent so long trying to get good at something, you're like, okay, but how can I expand on this further? How can I make this better? What exactly can I do to expand upon this and you know find different avenues that weren't there before? And then that's when you become great. Because now you're not looking at the status quo. You got the fundamentals, you got the basics, you learn how to do that. So once you get the fundamentals down, you get the basics down, you're either gonna stay average and stay mediocre, or you're gonna become very excellent in whatever you're doing because you're going past that. You're like, okay, I got the basics down, but now I really wanna get into this and lean into it and master it. And once you master something, it becomes a whole different ballgame. Because now you're the trusted source. Uh if you are going military jargon, you're the you're the SME. You're you're that guy. SME's subject matter expert. Someone who's learned something and done something so much that they pretty much have seen the ins and outs of whatever it is that they're dealing with. And now, if anyone has a question or don't know how to do something, they're the guy that they go to.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

You'll be that guy. Or woman. Just saying in general.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

You want to put in those hours, you want to master something, you want to be the one that people come to and ask questions to. There's value in that. When you have a wealth of knowledge, there's value in that. You want to become the one that people ask questions. Because that only increases your value and increases what you can do. And, you know, if it's in something that you get compensated for, it only increases your salary. Because if you're the one person they can go to and they can't find anyone else to do it, why wouldn't they pay you for that information?

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Plain and simple.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

That's why people can get promoted to be a supervisor. That's why people can't get promoted to be a director. It's because they have a wealth of knowledge. They've been doing something for so long that it's not hard for them to really catch on to any new nuances and they know the basics and expanded upon those basics to a point to where now, if they're in a situation where they're at a new job and they have to learn this new industry, it doesn't matter if they have to learn a new industry. That type of position that they've had previously, it gave them the experience to know, okay, well, I've experienced this before. This is similar to this, it's a little different because it's a different industry, but the basics are still the same. That's why people can change industries all the time. Because even if they worked in a different industry or they had a different job, it doesn't fucking matter. It doesn't fucking matter that they had a different job. In the end, when they were working, they learned the basics. They learned the fundamentals. And once they learned the basics and the fundamentals, they expanded upon that. When you learn the basics and the fundamentals, you can work anywhere. The only thing that separates you from someone else is the fact that they may have been in the industry longer. But just because they've been in the industry longer doesn't mean that they fit the position better than you do.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

It just means that they already had an early start.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

But if you've already had experience in whatever you're doing for a long time, and then you put in to go to this job, if you have the track record approved that you improved everywhere you've gone, who's to say that you can't improve what they're doing here? It's like legit, if you have made improvements everywhere you've gone in this one industry, industry one, say you've uh you're working in food production, you've made improvements on food production where you've worked for years. You moved up, you're a director or something, DP, you've had experience in that for years, and everywhere you've gone for that industry, you have improved production, you have improved sales, you've done all these things. Why wouldn't someone in the health industry look at you and be like, okay, well, he improves or she improves in their company at this industry for this many years and make this much money or increase production by this much by doing what they were doing there? Why can't they do it here?

SPEAKER_01 13:38

It happens all the fucking time. It happens all the fucking time. There's no reason why it can't happen for you.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

And the only way you can get to that point is by putting in the time and the effort. By learning whatever it is that you really want to delve into.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Put in the time and put in the effort. Work hard. Learn all the ins and outs. More importantly, besides that, besides learning the ins and outs, make mistakes. I feel people don't really move as often and don't really improve because they're afraid to make mistakes.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

They get frozen. They freeze. They gotta perform their job, they're like, uh, I don't want to make a mistake, I don't know what to do. Or and then they'll pass it off. Or before they do anything, they talk to someone and then they'll do it. If someone has to babysit you doing something all the time, that takes away from them doing their work. So why are they gonna you know look at you in a positive light? Well, not negative, they're not gonna think like, oh, he's annoying, but like they're not gonna think that way. But they will think, okay, they're not ready to be on their own, they're not really that strong in whatever they're doing because they're always constantly asking me for help. Now, it doesn't mean don't be afraid to ask for help, but that also means you shouldn't do something and then freeze and ask for help multiple times. Like if it's the same thing and you're asking for help for like a sixth time at that point, it's like, why are you asking for help? You've done this six, seven different times. You should have it right now.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

You've done it this much. Plain simple. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You're not gonna be perfect.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Honestly, I do feel that the only way you really truly improve, yes, you can ask for help. I feel that's very important. But I also feel you gotta use your brain and think for yourself when you're doing stuff. Because if you don't do it, it's not gonna become second nature to you at that point because you're not thinking. It's it's like I feel like this is the perfect example. Of course, back when I was a kid, we didn't have cell phones like that, right? I memorized at least 10 to 15 different people's phone numbers back then as a kid. That's because we didn't have cell phones. So the only way you could communicate with someone is you had to memorize their numbers, so you can actually dial it up and call them. Like, there wasn't a feature on the phones back then where you could just save their phone number and their contact. There wasn't.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Or maybe I just wasn't rich enough. But as far as I'm worried, there wasn't. And then once we got cell phones, I stopped remembering people's phone numbers. I may remember like two or three. But other than that, it's like my mom and my wife, and that's I think that's it. And my number. There you go. My mom and wife and my number. And then after that, what? I don't know anyone's number. Bro, I don't know anyone's number. I don't. It's all on my phone. If I have to contact you and I'm buying a paintphone, I'm fucked. It's not happening. Straight up.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

And that's because I'm not using my brain to memorize those numbers anymore. I'm not relying on my brain to do things. I'm relying on this phone. So if you're always relying on other people to do stuff, it's not gonna become second nature for you to do it because you're constantly asking for help. Now, it doesn't mean that you don't ask for help. It just means at some point when you take the training roads off and try to do it yourself. Just so you can get that experience of doing it on your own. If you don't do it on your own, you'll always be dependent on someone to try to help you because you never put yourself out there to actually learn it. Mistakes are very important to learn. You have to make mistakes. You know, it'll make it better. No, it's like you're naturally trying, you're actually trying to do well, you're trying to do better, and you're you're pulling from the information that you've learned so far to do whatever it is that you're doing. And then while you're doing whatever it is that you're doing, and you're pulling from the information that you learned, you make a mistake. And then someone points it out, and then you're like, oh, I was thinking I was supposed to do this and this. My bad, I'll do it like this from now on. Now, the next time you do it when no one's there, you're gonna do what they suggested. And it's because you're thinking, you're using your brain. You naturally try to earn way from what you learned and realize you forgot something or you made a mistake, so now you're gonna do it the correct way because you were told that it was incorrect, and now you soak that in and you do it on your own.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Plain and simple. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are common, mistakes aren't bad. Mistakes are a very important part of learning. So always make sure you try your best. And don't be afraid to fuck up.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

I've never gotten good at anything that I've done by being afraid to make a mistake. Honestly, I I don't think I've ever been afraid to make a mistake, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

But um I'm just not afraid to make a mistake because I know I'm not gonna get better unless I make mistakes.

SPEAKER_00 19:24

And why am I afraid to make a mistake? Like what? Am I afraid to look bad because I made a mistake? I don't care.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

I'm not gonna be perfect. No one's perfect. If you're expecting me to be perfect, then that's a you problem. Besides that, you gotta make sure you put the work in.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

That's the summary. That's the main thing about this episode. Late nights, is that in order for you to learn, in order for you to get better, in order for you to master some things, you're gonna put in that extra work. And it doesn't have to be literal late nights, but it does have to be extended periods of time of working on whatever it is that you're working on. Because you're not gonna master anything, you're not gonna get better at anything by doing it passively at all.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

There's no way I could have done real estate passively and learned it passively. The only thing passive about real estate is the income. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

In the end, you still have to actively buy it. In the end, you still have to actively research properties. In the end, you still have to actively find a realtor. In the end, you still have to actively put in an offer. In the end, you still have to actively bring in tenants. In the end, you still have to actively collect rent. In the end, you still have to actively fix whatever issues are on a property. In the end, you still have to actively manage people to make sure that they're keeping your property looking well. Like, there's no, you don't get better by not getting experience, and you don't get experience by not trying. You have to try, and you have to get that experience so you can learn and master what it is that you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Because I haven't bought a property since 2021, and I sold it. But I can tell you right now, I want to do it again, and I'm gonna do it again.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

But with that being said, I'll be way more prepared for when I do it compared to when I did it in 2021. Stuck and I did in 2021, all I knew is that I wanted to do it, and all I knew is that I wanted to try something different and master it. So, in turn, I put myself out there and I tried to do it. And I learned more from actually being uh a property owner than I did from researching it. Because you can research everything as much as you want until you're actually in the game, actually perform. It all doesn't matter. And then once you're in the game performing, if something random happens that's unexpected, you can throw all that shit out the window because then you really gotta think and use your brain be like, okay, so I'm gonna handle this. I'm sitting here, I own a property, and near mind you. Uh I have a uh property manager, but I'm gonna type the tenants still have my number. It is uh it's either November or December. I can't really remember. No, wait, was it November December? Was it the summer? I can't remember exactly. I think it might have been the summer, and um spending time with my wife. She at that point she was my girlfriend, but I'm with my wife, and we're out at dinner, and I get a text from a property manager saying that one of the AC units went out at one of the uh properties, and this is the weekend. This isn't even like during the week, this is during the weekend, and I'm like, okay, um, are they okay? She's like, they're okay, but right now they have no uh air conditioning, so we're trying to figure out how to fix that. So then I'm like, alright, well, for me as a property owner, I don't want my tenants to go through there with like no AC when it's dead in the summer, hot. Like, I don't want that. I want them to be okay. So at that point, I'm like, with my wife out to eat, eating oysters and shit. And now I gotta figure out how I'm gonna make sure they're okay. Now I can research real estate and being a property owner all I want, but there's nothing really to prepare you for getting that call or that text message that something went out at your property, and it's a fucking Saturday or Sunday where everything's closed, and you know, the people that are living there, they don't have the things that they adequately need to live. So what I do, you know, I put in the service requests. Did I know exactly what I was supposed to do? No. But at that point, you gotta brainstorm, you gotta figure out, okay, so what are my options and what can I do? Okay, I can put in a service request for someone to fix it. Cool. I put in the service request, so now that means at some time during the week, they're gonna go down there and they're gonna fix it. Alright, cool. But what can we do to help them now? They don't have AC. Okay, I tell my property manager, okay, I'm gonna send you the money, go ahead and buy a uh like an AC unit, like a portable AC unit, so they can have it inside the house, and then we'll have them use that until they fix the AC during the week.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

This is during the weekend, so obviously you have to go to like Walmart or some shit. And I'm saying all this to say it's all experience, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:00

This is the time that I'm putting in to learn. It's not just research. I'm actively in it.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

I'm learning, I'm putting in those thousand hours. I'm learning it.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

And you're not gonna learn unless you put yourself in certain situations or until certain situations happen because you allow yourself to be there. I bought the property, I wanted to be a property owner. Now I'm experiencing this, so now I got knowledge in this area. All because I decided I wanted to do this, and I actually did.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

And then they were okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:35

They had AC, they had fans, they had everything. So they weren't in the summer, you know, without any kind of air conditioning or anything like that.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

But with that being said, this happened on a weekend at like seven, eight o'clock at night, while you know, I'm out to eat with my my son to be wife. It's not something you can really plan for, you can only react to it.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

Um, so you know, but other than that, it's just you know, the whole idea of late nights in this episode is you just want to put yourself out there and get the experience and put in those extra hours so you can learn and master whatever it is that you need to do. So you can use that and help others and prepare yourself. And hopefully, potentially, if you're like doing something at work or something like that, you can turn it into some lucrative, you know.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

Turn in something you can make money from.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

And if you're not doing it for money, do it for the love of the game. You wanna learn because you actually love it and you actually like doing it. So cool.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

Do that and learn as much as you can so you can become better at whatever it is that you do. This was late nights. I'm just cast on. This is hard reset.