Latest / Masterminds Podcast / Integrity in a Corrupt World: Israel Laryea Reveals the Truth || Masterminds Podcast EP30

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Integrity in a Corrupt World: Israel Laryea Reveals the Truth || Masterminds Podcast EP30 · Masterminds Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: We had all been conditioned that you're supposed to go through school and then you finish school, then you can get a good job.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that I thought helped significantly as a as a journalist was.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: We've been to so many places to go and just learn.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Be prepared at any point in time for whatever surprises may come your way.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: There was some difficult moment for me.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: I recall I was heading to the house, driving home, and I was wondering whether I was being followed.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: I believe that yes, Mashay would take over some jobs.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: We would find our hand to find other things too.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_04: Welcome back to the Masterminds Podcast.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_04: The one place where every single week we decide to sharpen your strongest and most powerful tool, your mind.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_04: My name is Richie Menta, and I'm your tour guide on this ever exciting journey.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm sitting next to somebody who I have so much respect for.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_04: Not just for the amazing decorum, not just for how decorated he is in his craft, not just for how he's been able to shape minds and build culture with the work that he's done, but also for his ability and his dedication to reinventing himself.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's quite difficult to make something of yourself in the first place.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_04: So to do that so well and be so respected by the entire country and beyond, and then say, I love what I've done and I'm ready for the next journey.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_04: I'm reinventing myself and I'm going to build something even stronger than my strong presence.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_04: That's remarkable and amazing.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_04: And when he agreed to come and do the interview, I was like, I must be doing something right.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_04: If the great Israel liar decides to sit with me, how are you doing, my boss?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm well, and yes, you're doing lots of things right.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for all the accolades.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_04: Your accolades, dear, what I give is not enough.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_04: I should have had the whole one-hour discussion just mentioning what you've done.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody was gonna watch that.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I always say that to be a media personality and still maintain the decorum and the calm and the poise that you have to stay intentional, to stay intelligent, to have so much integrity, it's not easy.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_04: It's not easy.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_04: I've seen you do it so well, and I really admire it.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I'd say by God's grace.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, you see, even in the compliments, you still have the poise.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_04: I want to talk about the younger Israel.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_04: Let's start with that.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, I want to see what makes you tick right from the early age to become the person that you are.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_04: How what was growing up like for you?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Growing up, you know, we had all been conditioned that you're supposed to go through school and then you finish school, then you can get a a good job.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I growing up was a regular child.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh in school, I'll try to do my best to stay on top of the class.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And when I come home, I'd like to play like like all regular children.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, play with the kids in the neighborhood, the chaskele, stay, and and all those things.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: But yes, I was also quite focused on my on my studies, or probably maybe because it just came to me um without much effort, you know.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that that was it.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I was growing up like uh any regular child.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: I should say though the uh the childhood at some point became you know difficult.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay you know how I think um I regularly say that I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth somewhere along the line.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: The silver spoon was taking off, and I got a wooden ladle, and and uh you know, all that I've been doing since then is trying to be in a position to give my kids a silver spoon.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_04: What was that transition like for you?
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_04: Because that that must have been tough.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: I really didn't see it as tough actually.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was regular.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is what this is the situation now.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_04: This is the situation now.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um and maybe the transition from the silver spoon to the wooden ladle wasn't so you know obvious.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, yeah, um, this is what I have to contend with.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um and maybe because I was maybe from a very young age too, quite content with whatever I have.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: So what I've been giving or what life has served me is what is what I'll take.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Getting to a point where life was you know so tough too, I was like, yeah, I guess life is tough for everybody else.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that was the way I you saw it.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: I saw it.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: It was when I began maturing that I was like, okay, so life is better for others, but then that inspired me to want to be that okay.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: It showed you what was possible, yes, it showed me what was possible, you know, but I was also appreciative of what my parents would do for me at that at that age as well.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, yeah, I should also work towards being in the position to take you know good enough care of of my children, like the friends that I have.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_04: So did you, you I mean you mentioned that you were the normal kid.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_04: I know you call yourself normal, but I'm sure if I I go back into history, you were not normal.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_04: You're on the path school and everything.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_04: Did you always know journalism was what you were going to do?
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Journalism came to me when I had finished O level.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: GCE O level.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Before then, my big sister, she introduced me to the BBC.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I I enjoyed it.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I also enjoyed reading books that offered knowledge.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: So then when I discovered, or my sister introduced me to the BBC, I was like, okay, so all the knowledge that I'm looking for, I can just listen to it on radio.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: So at the time, BBC was available on shortwave radio, not the FM that we have here.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Shortwave radio, you're going to tune um on one channel, you're listening to the station on one channel, and then they're closing on that channel, and then you have to go and look for another channel, you know, to listen to it.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: You keep you keep hopping on various channels, but yes, that was how we're listening to uh the BBC.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: So she had introduced me to that.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: I was enjoying the knowledge that I was acquiring, and then um CNN also came along.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: CNN came along as uh on UHF channel, that was also quite difficult to get.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I'll be watching that, and then I had finished O level, I looked at the subjects that I had, and English was my best subject, and and I thought, okay, if English is my best subject, I should be doing something along those lines.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: So GVC had at that time announced that they were looking for newscasters, and um I applied, and yeah, nothing became of that.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, interesting.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, nothing became of that.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I I thought I was young, but I was like, yeah, give it a shot.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I applied, but nothing became of that.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Then it was much later, TV three also started, when TV three started, then I was full of confidence and wanting to um just walk in there because I had read this book, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dave Carnegie.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought, yeah, you know, me walking with the confidence, walking with the confidence.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some receptionist stopped me one time, showed me my smoothness level, and uh yeah.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, she said, I was trying to, you know, wiggle my way around.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Yes.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: He says, Okay, go and bring your appointment.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, go and bring an application letter.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so quickly, right there, those days we had communication centers and went around.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Printed quickly.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing became of that.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Charlie.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it was much later on that yeah, I got into I got into TV3.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_04: So how how were you able to overcome those failures at that time?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_04: Because most people when they are starting out and they are getting rejection after rejection, it breaks their spirits, but you kept coming back until you got the job.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, at the time I saw myself as I was nobody, I didn't have anything.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't have anything to lose.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_03: True.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: So me being rejected by you know that receptionist, or or maybe I told myself when um the GTV one, the GBC one, nothing became of it.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, um, you know, there'll be lots of applications, yeah.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: And uh they'll look through the applications and throw them away.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, mine was thrown away.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's fine.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: The uh TV3 one was like, yeah, I mean, I had read that you know you would apply and all that, but you know, a lot of the time they really don't look at the applications, yeah.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, or you may not be lucky, they won't even consider application.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I just saw it as one of those.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so I wasn't pained by it, you know.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: I took it in my stride, and and that was it.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, so now let's walk through the journey.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_04: Now, yeah, TV3, you got the job.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_04: I want to understand the mind behind the man because when I watch you presenting, it's so calm and effortless, and just like, how do you keep that decorum?
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_04: I I want to be able to do that.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_04: Look at me, I'm so animated, I'm like a chipmunk.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's um I guess it's that's just me typically.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, well, pretty chill about about things, and I'm thinking that or I got to understand that I'm speaking to people, and so I should be as you know myself as possible, so not do things uh the way people would expect you to, but uh what had also helped me too was I've been watching a number of people, a number of broadcasters, and listening to um a lot of the BBC.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, maybe the way the BBC went about it.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you listen to BBC broadcast, they're pretty calm about it.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then there was uh CNN too, and the way they were they were going about their presenters were going about it.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I found a fine balance between the two and me being a typically you know calm person, I thought, okay, let me go with something that works for me.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll be um on air and I'm seeing it as addressing people or talking to people.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the way I saw it.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_04: So even before having this conversation, I assumed you're somebody who must love searching for knowledge.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_04: Because I know a true journalist is not just someone who delivers the information, but should also be curious about information.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_04: And you've confirmed it as you're talking about the books you're reading and you know, watching and listening to BBC and CNN.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_04: It strikes me as someone who's searching for knowledge.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_04: Do you think that has been an advantage for you in this space?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: It has been, because then I tend to know a bit more than you know, my the regular or the average journalist, you know, having read around a bit and I wouldn't say, you know, done extensive reading, but I've read, yeah, I've read you know around a bit.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say it gave it gave me an advantage.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: And um I tried to learn as much as possible.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: One of one of the things that I thought helped me significantly as a as a journalist was I was also very comfortable with numbers.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: So and I done accounting.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Oh nice.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I loved it.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: I loved numbers, I loved math.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I was I could fit anywhere.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: So there were there was an opportunity for, I mean, very early on when I I got into like real active journalism, a joy a firm, there'll be an opportunity to handle some business story, and and I would easily handle it because I was very comfortable with it.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so I guess my bosses at the time saw that okay, so this some guy who can handle general news and can also handle business news, and that's an asset.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, in addition to all the things that I've the reading I've done, I was also very comfortable with with figures, and and so yeah, it worked really well for me.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_04: I always say that's my favorite thing about journalism.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_04: Sometimes I wish maybe I should have been a journalist.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, wait, what am I doing right now?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_04: Because I say one thing I'm enjoying the most about the podcast is the conversations I have and how much knowledge I get from the person that I'm talking to.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I always think being a journalist allows you to become the best version of yourself because you have so much knowledge being poured into you every single day.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: That is when you're willing to you, you know, to learn, open up and learn from people.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: True.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: And um being a journalist for me also meant that I'm always I became a news buff.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: I want to know what's happening, yeah any and everywhere, so that it would inform me when I'm also engaging people, yeah.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Not just listening to news from any and everywhere, but getting to meet people.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes there's a news item that you're reporting on.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: When you're done with that, you're gonna get a call or somebody's gonna reach out and tell you there's an angle that you missed.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Then you go and have a conversation with the person, yeah, and then the person would uh educate you, then you learn all of that and add that to your body of knowledge so that next time we happen to go approaching that subject, you have new insights, you have new insights, yeah.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you know there I've been to so many places to go and just learn, you know, like um aviation, something happens, okay, and I'm there, air traffic control, I'm having conversations with people, you know, the air traffic control is getting to understand their space, and some of the things they will tell you about is not really news at the time.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: But then much later on, something happens, and you realize that that knowledge they shared with you comes in handy.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: So then you're sitting in an editorial meeting and some information comes.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Then you say, ah, I recall that when they said this, they said, you know, hold on, let's let's not go with this angle, let's check with this person, and we'd realize that because there's something that we're missing here.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_04: So everything makes much more sense now, yeah.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: So they I've learned so much, and I often say that in the newsroom, at least during our time or during my time, the information we share with people is just a fraction of what we come across.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, because the time is limited.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Beyond the time being limited, there are lots of things that we get to hear about, but you can't you don't have the evidence to support it.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so yeah, you just keep it at the back of your mind.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: It would help you form an impression about somebody or something, but you don't say it because you don't have the facts, you know.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we tend to know so much, but we say very little.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_04: I I can really see that your excellence has come from the internal value that you've built for yourself, like how much knowledge you've taken in, how you've listened, how you've observed.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_04: It's made you grow, and that always comes out externally as that pure excellence.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_04: Do you do you remember any particular story or anything you that changed who you are, like a story that made you re-evaluate your perceptive in life?
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um I don't recall any such um no, I I don't recall any.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: There's been quite a few stories that I've covered that have been significant, but yeah.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: I it just happens, I report, I learn from it, and I just I just move on.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_04: I like how you you describe things.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_04: It's like you don't see challenges as challenges.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if we're talking about challenges, yes, there have been a few um challenges.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: One of them being um oh, you know, some of the challenging stories that I've reported on.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: There was this you know, aspiring member of parliament who wanted to run as MP, and I got information from the spouse or ex-wife, who was out of the country that this guy had uh a criminal record.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: He had been convicted, wherever, in some other country before he came.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so I approached the MP and I wanted us to have a conversation about it.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is what we've heard, yeah, and the guy just flipped and yeah, it became like really wild, and he threatened me and all of that.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, yeah, and that was some difficult moment for me.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: I was I recall I was heading to the house, driving home, and I was wondering whether I was being followed.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I got home and I would look out of the window to see if there's anybody, you know, creeping around and all of that.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was eventually we ended up at the police here.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: You had to make a Formal logic formal complaint.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, especially knowing he had a criminal record, must have also made you believe that these people have followers.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: They are fanatics.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Who they may not even instruct them, but if they get a sense that you're trying to, you know, pour sand into their gallery, they will just decide that let's deal with him.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_04: So did you ever come up with a story?
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah, I saw the story.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing stopped the story.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: The story didn't stop.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_04: Nothing stops the news.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: No, no.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_04: But did it did it change how you approached journalism after that point?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_04: Did you get a little scared on approaching people?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: All I needed to assure myself was that I had the facts and I was approaching the story the way it should be.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: So if without checking with him, I went ahead to put out the story.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Then there was an issue.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I approached and wanted to let you know that you maintained your integrity.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you that this information I have.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: I want your reaction to it.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, that's it.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: There was another one, um, a major brand, global brand.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I got a scoop.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, I approached them and I was like, this is what this information we have.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's damaging.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: But I want your reaction to it.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Said, hell no, that story is not gonna go on air.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: And as I said, they're major brand, they pour a lot of money into the company, yeah, the radio station I worked with.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so they had some clout.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: So the story is not going.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: My people stood by me.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_04: Wow.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because they are threatened that we're gonna you know take off their their ads if we go ahead with the story, several meetings, and they're trying to convince the rep of the company that look give us your side of the story.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: He said no.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, we went ahead with the story and they pulled their ads.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, then they they did well by standing by oh, yeah.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: So for a while, they pulled their ads, eventually they came back.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, but rather than so you were you were talking about how it changed my perspective.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, this one, this particular one changed my perspective because then it told me I have people who stand by me.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so long as I'm doing it right.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I got that assurance, yeah, if you're doing your job, these people will stand by you.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_04: It's so tough for a lot of journalists to maintain that integrity that you have.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_04: How do you keep doing it?
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_04: I always say integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is watching.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_04: How do you do it when you know that maybe there are other people who can decide to not verify a story or cancel a story because the person is paying a lot of money and stuff, and they get away with it.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_04: So, how do you manage to maintain that integrity knowing that others wouldn't do that?
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: I I think for me it was just normal.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's the way I've been brought up.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that you know, there are these principles that you live by and you don't waver.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because so I went into it.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: I have the story.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I have the scoop.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I just need your reaction to it.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not doing anything untoward.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, so long as I knew that I was right, nothing else mattered.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was just focused on it.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, if it got to a point where my company decided that, okay, yes, Israel, you have the story, all right, and all them, and they said we're not gonna run it, I would have understood them anyway.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Because I also appreciated the fact that yeah, this is a business, and we need the ads, yeah, the revenue from the arts to keep going.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if the company said no, let's not run in the story because of this, that, that, I still would have them.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I still would have understood them.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that's for integrity.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: I believe it's a matter of course, you know, and yeah, just just do the right things as much as possible.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_04: So when you say matter of course, you mean like the purpose, the reason you are doing what you're doing.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_04: So, what was your reason?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_04: What was your reason for journalism?
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_04: What was that thing that would always drive you to be the best journalist?
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it was about impacting people.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_04: I like that.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Look, when we started journalism, or when yeah when I was TV3 and especially at Joy FM, private radio was new.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: And what people really wanted was the taps are not flowing, their roads are bad.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they want you to talk about it so that the powers that be will do something about it.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: So you receive a phone call, and this person says, this you take note of it, we discuss it in the editorial meeting, and we decide that okay, we're gonna cover it.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: And we go and cover it, we talk about it, and then something happens, and then the people are happy that through us something good came to them, yeah, or their problem was solved.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it could even be a fire out, you know, there's some fire somewhere, and then they call and they say, Can you put it out on radio?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: It could be an accident, traffic somewhere.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: Those were the things that happened that for us you know meant that we're impacting people's lives and making a difference.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: So making a difference, that's that's it for me.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_04: And that's that's how you become successful.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_04: When now your purpose is bigger than you.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_04: Because when it's just about you, then you're limited to how far you can go.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_04: But as you are trying to impact people's lives, God will help you to impact people's lives.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then many years down the line, I realized that for some, just coming on TV or being on radio was it for them.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, just hearing you or just seeing you made their day.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_04: You know, makes them feel, you know, it gets to a point where you become a reliable face and voice.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_04: You get me?
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_04: Sometimes just maybe seeing you on TV, you saying something makes me feel, oh, things are gonna be okay.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, maybe there's a crisis, something is going on, and then Israel comes back, but it's like, oh, it's under control.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_04: How does it feel knowing that you give people that assurance?
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: It feels good, it feels really good, and uh I I feel humbled by it.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, that really that's all it took for me to make a difference in in someone's life.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel quite humbled by it, and um and it makes me see life differently.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: That you know we're a lot of the things that we scramble for in this life are not really necessary.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_04: Very good question.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, you'd be surprised by the things that make a difference, and you know, not the things we tend to scramble for, yeah, you know, the wealth and the possessions and and all of that.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: So that also, yes, shapes my thinking and the way I see things in this world.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_04: That I was telling someone recently that I've I've done a lot in this short life of mine.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_04: You have.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_04: But the funny thing is, what I feel the most proud about is this podcast.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_04: And the ability to be able to share information with someone out there who I don't even know, what like my guests would come, and the insights that this person is going to take away, the impact is making in their lives, makes me more proud than anything I've done for myself or for my company or for the few people around me.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_04: It's my favorite part about this.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I can be walking in town, maybe like I'm in Cape Coast and I meet somebody and they say, I've been learning so much from you, I've applied this, and I'm like, oh wow, I've actually impacted your life from so far away.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's a good feeling to have, it's an amazing feeling.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, had I known, maybe I wouldn't have done any of my other businesses.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_04: I would have been working with you.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_04: You needed the other ones too to get you here because also those also impacted other people's lives as well.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_04: How were you able to switch?
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_04: This is what I really want to know.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_04: So many people get stuck in their ways.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_04: You know, you succeed at one thing and you stay there for life.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_04: That's sort of what we were taught when we were kids.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_04: The fact that you have you've had such an amazing career, and you said, I'm going to start something new, I'm going to be running Influence Africa.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_04: You went from traditional media into this new crazy digital media, and you've come in swinging at the top.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_04: How were you able to do that switch?
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: I I would say it's not exactly a completely new switch because it's traditional media and now digital media, which we also say is new media.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: So it's media but in a different form.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's all.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, I I've always been open to new things and new ideas.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: So when social media came, I was one of the first that jumped on it.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I wanted to, you know, I thought it was a new space.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, let me go along with it, learn, and all of that.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, got a Facebook account and you know, I post things.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: When Facebook started, they say what's on your mind.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_04: That's giving you the chance to talk.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so they started as what's on your mind.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: So you post what's on your mind, yeah, and you know, post pictures and all that.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I I built quite, you know, a bit of following on on Facebook, or I got into it quite early.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: And when the others also came, I jumped on like X, yeah, and the and the rest.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: So and I've been using my platforms very regularly.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think I was one of the first you know guys in in media to jump on Twitter and to use it actively, yeah, like that.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I had gotten to a point where I had built a significant following on social media and I had to you know sustain their interest by you know regularly posting and all.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I had that already.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_00: So when it got to a point where there was the opportunity to switch, I it wasn't that difficult.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, it was one of the reasons that that convinced me that this was the way to go.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so typically for most people who have done traditional media, when they get to a point they want to move on to something else, they ended up they end up being um you know PROs, yeah, or corporate affairs manager, or you know, comedy going to communications for brands or companies.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: But then I felt that I looked at the following that I had, and I was like, no, it would be unwise, or I'll be limiting myself if I end up working for any brand.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, any particular brand, because then I'd have to speak for that brand and that brand alone.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_04: I wouldn't have now given all your power to that brand's name.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't have the chance to speak about issues like I generally would speak about freely.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: So all even though those opportunities came, I had that at the back of my I don't think it will work for me.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it will work for me.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: So when this opportunity came, it's like okay, this is an opportunity for me to still use my platforms, and you know, I wouldn't be limiting myself, yeah, you know, while while working.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought it was a a right fit.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I went for it.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I was yes, I was also interested in exploring that space, like um, you know, getting a degree in digital media or digital marketing.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, so you you actually like got a degree in digital marketing?
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: Learning on the job was like that for me.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_04: Uh-huh.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_04: Because with digital it's changing every single day.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_04: So you need to be honest.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: I never went to GIJ for you just searched for the knowledge every day.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was just there, I could speak well, I could write well, the opportunity came.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: I got into it.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_04: So, how does Influenza Africa work?
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: So we work with we work for brands.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: And for creators.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a creators on one side, and then there are brands on the other side.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: The brands operate in a certain way.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: What they it's it's new, a new form of advertising, essentially.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's because most people are now staying on their devices and not as much TV or as much radio, as much print.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: So what we do is the brands are looking for platforms for them to push their messages, and then these creators have also established their platforms.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: So you see the creator, the creators, Facebook or social media handle as like a radio station or a program.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then the brands are also looking at advertising on a platform that has you know significant following, just like radio.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: So Joy FM will say I have three million people listening to the morning show.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: Then the brand will say, Okay, if you have that, that's where I want to put my product or advertise my brand.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: So when it comes to social media and the creators, the creators say, I have three million people following me.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: Then the brand will say, Okay, that's where I want to put.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to talk about my brand on your platform.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sometimes the person has 20,000 followers, you can still work with that because maybe it's a niche that suits your brand.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: So we connect the brands to the influencers, and then vice versa.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: So the the times to the times we take briefs from the brands, and then we look for the creators, okay, and put together a campaign, come up with a strategy and all of that, and monitor.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: So at the end of the day, we can tell you, okay, this creator did this.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you put we put the uh your brand on this creator's platform, so many people saw it, so many people engaged with it, and sometimes too the brands will give us feedback and say, Yes, the this campaign you ran for me sold out my products.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: So there's that, and then there's also the creators where we bring the creators together, we identify particular creators, okay, and then we'll go to the brands and tell them we believe that if we put um Richimensa and this other creator, that other creator that together, we put your brand on it.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: Your brand is going to sell.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because these are the right fit.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_04: If you guys start seeing me doing some things for some brands, it means Influenza Africa got me.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, oh yeah.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll say, yes, the these creators are like the right fit.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: The kind of following they have is what you want to tap into.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: So we speak to them, then they agree, we design a camp, come up with a campaign strategy, and then we put a brand on it, and then they're happy.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, they are going to pay us a commission on what is going to the creators.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the way it works.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_04: So what's what's it like?
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_04: Because I know that you know, when it comes to reporting, when it comes to journalism, there's a lot of integrity and doing things the right way, versus the influenza culture, which is more what's the right word?
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_04: Chaotic.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_04: What I mean by that is so if you take Joy FM, if you take TV3, these are well-established companies with a sales team and you know, with the manager and this and that.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_04: It's very professional.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_04: Whereas an influenza, an influenza could be somebody who just loved posting.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_04: Maybe someone who likes fashion and was just putting themselves and they they got an audience.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_04: Somebody who likes food and was always posting their food and they got an audience.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_04: So this person may not be ready for briefs and picking the call at the right time and posting at the right time and sending analytics and all those kind of things.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_04: How do you translate from the corporate language to the influencer language?
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_04: How do you do that?
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is what um we bargain for.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's very real.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the things you're talking about, very typical.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you're expecting a creator to post at a certain time and then you won't post.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, the brand is expecting that you get them to post at that time.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: And they're giving you the pressure.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_00: And they're giving you the pressure.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_00: Or you've discussed, you know, a campaign with a creator, everything else, and it's time for them for us to kick start the campaign, and the person says, I'm not doing it again.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: Hey! I mean, they can give you a thousand and one reasons or they're supposed to create content to post and it hasn't happened.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: But yes, we the way I see my role is we we're gonna be doing a lot of hand holding and be taking a lot of hits.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: But it's all to grow this industry.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, I see myself as a sacrificial lamb of a sort that the brands I see myself as being in this space to legitimize the space.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_04: I like that.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_00: So that the brands will see somebody credible enough for them to work with.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because you know influencer marketing, digital media, and all of that marketing, it's it's still new in our part of the world.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_04: We're still tweaking it as we go along.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_00: There's some established brands that understand it, but there are many others that don't.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to have somebody in the space that they can say, okay, Israel has enough credibility.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_00: If he says he's gonna do this, let's listen to him.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's give him a chance.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_00: There are those two who are still not sure.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, but there are those who say, okay, let's let's give him a chance.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_00: So we would run some campaigns, and when it checks out, when it works, then the brands that we run the campaigns for get excited and they'll be like, okay.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_00: Then they believe.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_00: And as they believe and allow us to run more campaigns, then there's also word of mouth.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_00: They can tell like this, oh, these guys.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: It works with them and it works.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_00: These guys, yeah, they seem to know what they're doing.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_04: And I personally think the biggest benefit of what you do, like once again, I call it translation.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_04: Because what starts to happen is maybe you have a brand see that, oh, okay, let's take Mastermind's podcast, for example.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, Richie's getting good numbers.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, wow, I love the views and everything.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_04: So the person just decides to jump on the podcast, yet what I talk about does not relate to their brand at all.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_04: So now they chase the views over the actual impact.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_04: I see that thing happen a lot.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_04: Like maybe I see an influencer doing something for a brand, and I'm like, these two don't connect at all.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_04: So having that bridge that is able to identify that, okay, you are trying to sell shoes.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_04: You need a brand that can speak to that.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_04: Don't go take an influencer who's talking about food all the time and say, sell my shoes for me.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_04: Or sometimes I can see maybe somebody has a shop.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_04: You have a shop in Dan Soma, and then you're going to take an influencer who is posting things that has nothing to do with the people in your area.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_04: So you are getting a million views, two million views for a product that you are selling to 300, 400 people.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_04: And those 300, 400 people may not even be part of your million.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_04: It takes a credible person, it takes a credible institution to analyze all these things and put people together.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: Or somebody coming to see me with the numbers that I have, or somebody living in the UK with the numbers that I have, and then decides that oh, I have a program somewhere in London, some corner of London.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to post about it.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: I know my reach is mainly largely Ghana.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_00: So then I'd advise you that it's not really going to work.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_00: Or if even if I post you're not going to get value for it.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I have people who follow me in the UK and elsewhere, but they may form maybe 10% of my followers.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: So what you're seeking to do would reach 80% of my followers.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: But then out of the 80%, it's only 10% that are interested in it.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_00: So yes, we do the analytics and all of that.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so we can advise the brand that, okay, for what you're trying to do, this isn't going, this creator isn't going to work.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_04: And I've even noticed on the influencer side too, sometimes certain influencers don't understand conversion.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_04: So what I mean by that is an influencer can do content and it gets a lot of views, but those views are not views that bring actual interest in what they are talking about.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_04: So sometimes when a brand comes to an influencer, the content they do for them may get the views.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_04: You send the analytics.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_04: Look, one million impressions, but all those impressions don't make the people interested in the product or the brand.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_00: True.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why the brand, too, must know the kind of influencer or creator you're approaching.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because you may be in one sector, the person may have followers who are into, or people may follow that creator for one particular reason.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: You may follow the creator because of the travel content they put out.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_04: And then you have them do dance content for you now, and then like so there's that mismatch a lot of the time.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: But that's where we come in.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_04: You're doing well.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_04: But how did the relationship with Echo House start?
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I was um I was approached by somebody I had known, you know, growing up, and who thought, who's also in the advertising space, who thought, yeah, I could be the right fit for influence Africa.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_00: They thought, okay, this guy has credibility, he has respect or he's earned respect amongst many of these creators and the brands.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I believe that he would be the right fit for it.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: So um when they approached me to the conversation, I was like, okay, that sounds it sounds, yeah, that sounds interesting and and it sounds like a plan.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_00: So then I got in.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yes, my even though yes, I'm um executive head of influence africa, or my baby is Influencer Africa, my role um gets me into lots of different other things at at Echo House.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_04: So I mean, because you're a very valuable mind, so I can't imagine having access to you and not tapping your mind for so many other things.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_04: But what do you think is next?
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_04: I ask that because you are clearly somebody who knows how to be dynamic as the times move.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_04: And I think we are in the fastest-paced era ever.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_04: You know, from the from internet to social media to now the AI craze.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_04: What do you think?
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_04: How can we navigate the waters, the very, you know, tremendously fast-moving waters that we are serving in right now?
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: At this point, I feel it's it's quite unpredictable.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_00: So we can't really tell what's coming.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's AI, all right, and the way AI itself is evolving, it's like we can't tell what's what's gonna come up next.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, digital media will rule for a while, and AI itself, in itself, is also playing along those lines.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it would be it would be good if anybody is asking how do I position myself.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you should position yourself along those lines.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_00: Many people will tell you if you can understand software, that would that would be helpful because yeah, essentially, I mean software is because you can design even the AI and yeah, all of that, you can play.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_04: No, you can use AI to create AI.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_00: You can you can play in that space.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_00: So um pretty much, and there are also those who are saying that okay, AI may metamorphose into something else, or AI superintelligence, or it may not be something else may come up and we'll stop talking about AI.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've heard that conversation.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, the truth is AI has been around for like 15 years, like AI has been used in uh in music.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_04: We use AI so much from um a lot of our mastering software and stuff have AI, so they call it like mastering assistant, mixing assistant, Excel has had AI for a long time.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_04: AI has been around for a while.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just now being smarter in and working faster, exactly, and becoming more available to everybody, yeah.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_04: So at first, AI was available to the few corporates, and you could use a minimized version of it in what they give you, but now anybody can use AI, so it's getting scary because that small boy, that 10-year-old who's not learned as much as you have, now has a tool that can do everything that you have learned your entire life.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then people who are saying, What happens to education as a result?
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, true.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_00: Do we need to go to school?
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_04: Education is one of the biggest, like one of the things that is a big risk right now because all the information is available to you, you know.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_04: In the older generation, before before Excel, and let's even say before calculators, the ability to calculate quickly in your mind was a very important skill.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's a skill that I have mastered and it's so useless right now.
• 54:43
  SPEAKER_04: Tell me about it because somebody can just punch it in.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_04: Whereas when I was a kid, my mom used to brag about the fact that, like, when we go eat at a restaurant, before they bring the bill, I've calculated it because once everybody ordered their food, I calculated everything.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_04: Remember, who cares now?
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_04: Because as the person is typing out your orders, it's already calculating it.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_04: So that same way, the previous skill that used to be valued of being able to hold information.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_04: You know, we all know, oh, yeah, if you go to this guy, he knows things about cars, he knows about this.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_04: He now it's it's useless because you can just go and chat GPT and get all the information that you need.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_04: So, aside education, one of people's biggest fears is AI is coming for all our jobs.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_04: What do you think about that?
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I've I've heard um I watched well listening to a conversation on the BBC where this issue came up, and the person was saying that we've had those fears in the past that there was technology that was taking over some jobs, but all that happens is that we find other jobs, yeah.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, technology will take over that job, but then there'll be other jobs that would be created as a result, or we would find out our hands would find other things doing.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_00: My mom was a typist, that was her job.
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_00: She's supposed to be in the office and typing letters on a manual typewriter and you see the Gen Z watching won't understand the sound I just did.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_00: And she would also be writing shorthand, yeah, you know, taking notes in a meeting shorthand, and then later she's going to you know type them all out and all doesn't exist anymore.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, nobody does that anymore, but there's still many other jobs that that are available.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I believe that yes, much as AI would take over some jobs, we would find our hands will find other things doing, yeah.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where I would say wherever you find yourself, be in a position to be able to adapt.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you shouldn't have just one skill, try and get one or two so that if it's failing here or you're gonna lose it here, you know, one other skill will be relevant.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you know, and I've seen this thing happen.
• 57:43
  SPEAKER_04: Well, not personally, because you know, I've read this thing happen over years and over periods, like when we're moving from the agricultural period to the industrial period, where at first, if you had a farm, you needed like 100 men to harvest for you.
• 58:00
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, then the invention of the tractor came, and I could have three people operate the tractor and do the work of the hundred men.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_04: But those other 97 people found other jobs because somebody needs to build the tractors.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_04: And also now more farms could be opened because instead of needing 100 men employed, three people could open a farm.
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_04: And I think the best part about what's going to happen with the AI craze is entrepreneurship is about to skyrocket.
• 58:29
  SPEAKER_00: True.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_04: Because in the past, I have a skill to be able to get this job done, to be able to start a business, I need like 20 skills.
• 58:40
  SPEAKER_04: So I need all these other people to play roles to enhance my skill.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_04: But now, with AI being able to play those 19, I can concentrate on what I'm good at and let AI's assistants help me build my business.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_04: So I feel like I mean this is my personal prediction.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_04: I could be 100% wrong.
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_04: So don't come in this video five years from now and laugh at me that I was wrong.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_04: I said I could be wrong.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_04: But I believe what's going to happen is we are going to move away from traditional employment and go back to the previous era where people were more contracted than being employed.
• 59:21
  SPEAKER_04: So, what I mean by that is um let's say you see certain jobs like painters, carpenters, you know, the jobs which are based on skills are more of contracts than being employed.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_04: So I feel we're going to start having that in every area.
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_04: So let's say you are a lawyer or an accountant, all these roles are now going to be things that can be done easily with AI.
• 59:53
  SPEAKER_04: So somebody can also open their accounting firm and now also have administration taken care of, have creative taken care of, and the accounting firm will also now be contracted when it's needed to do auditing only.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_04: We're going to go from needing a hundred people to run a successful business to having three skilled people using AI to assist them to run that business.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_04: So instead of paying people monthly like it happens right now, it will now be I am only paying this person because they are giving me something so unique that I can't use my existing tools.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_04: So we'll end up becoming more valuable based on that uniqueness that we have as opposed to like the medium value that most people offer now.
• 1:00:44
  SPEAKER_00: I also suspect what's what's also going to happen is we're going to be looking at ways to enjoy a lot more.
• 1:00:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like we have a lot more free time on our hands, and so we'd want to enjoy life.
• 1:01:05
  SPEAKER_00: And to enjoy life, we would need people to enjoy life.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_00: So who knows?
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there'll be people around just serving enjoyment.
• 1:01:15
  SPEAKER_00: Enjoyment that AI can't.
• 1:01:18
  SPEAKER_04: I'm definitely not afraid of what's coming.
• 1:01:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm not.
• 1:01:23
  SPEAKER_04: I know so many people who are like thinking, you know, the singularity is coming, and you know, we've watched Terminator, we've watched Matrix, the machine is about to take over.
• 1:01:32
  SPEAKER_04: But I genuinely believe in humans, and I believe that everything that is happening right now is going to make us better, it's going to make us stronger.
• 1:01:43
  SPEAKER_04: Of course, it's going to come with so many negatives, just like everything else in life.
• 1:01:48
  SPEAKER_04: Social media has so many positives, so many negatives.
• 1:01:51
  SPEAKER_04: TV, like when TV came, was an amazing technology, but you have so many people who are sleep deprived, so many people who are like obesity, so many things caused by the negative sides of it.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_04: So as much as a lot of people are pointing out the negatives, I also see such an amazing future for our kids and the younger generation right now.
• 1:02:14
  SPEAKER_04: I'm I'm personally very optimistic.
• 1:02:17
  SPEAKER_00: Except we need to prepare them.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 1:02:21
  SPEAKER_00: You need to be in a certain frame of mind where you can be easy, you can easily adapt.
• 1:02:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you don't, or if you can't adapt as quickly as possible, then yeah, you're going to be left in the lurch.
• 1:02:39
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 1:02:40
  SPEAKER_04: Like teaching them how to spot an AI video versus a real video.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_04: You know, the deep fakes are getting real out there.
• 1:02:48
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, I recently saw um my episode with Kojo Sobo.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_04: Somebody had used AI to change what we were saying and they were using it to advertise their product.
• 1:02:57
  SPEAKER_04: Oh my god.
• 1:02:58
  SPEAKER_04: And it's our voices and everything.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_04: Like, Charlie, there's going to come a time when you watch something, you have no idea when it's real versus when it's fake.
• 1:03:07
  SPEAKER_04: How do you guys even know we are real right now?
• 1:03:14
  SPEAKER_04: But for you personally, too.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_04: What do you what do you want for your future?
• 1:03:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking at being able to impact a lot more people than I do now.
• 1:03:32
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, it's all about impact.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, maybe at some point I was impacting um 10,000 people, I was impacting 100,000 people, a million people.
• 1:03:46
  SPEAKER_00: Can I do something that impacts millions?
• 1:03:50
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 1:03:51
  SPEAKER_04: You want to be able to grow the impact that you've already put on people.
• 1:03:55
  SPEAKER_04: I like that.
• 1:03:56
  SPEAKER_04: And I like that your your purpose is staying selfless even as you get bigger and more powerful.
• 1:04:03
  SPEAKER_04: Very admirable.
• 1:04:04
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:04:05
  SPEAKER_04: Now do one more selfless thing for me.
• 1:04:07
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_04: Look at that camera and imagine you could drop a mindset in the mind of the person watching that will help them move closer to being successful.
• 1:04:19
  SPEAKER_04: What would that mindset be?
• 1:04:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm saying Be prepared at any point in time for whatever surprises may come your way.
• 1:04:41
  SPEAKER_00: Being prepared for the surprises means that you can adapt when something comes up.
• 1:04:48
  SPEAKER_00: So have a few options.
• 1:04:51
  SPEAKER_00: Think through these options so that when it happens that you'd have to turn to those options, you would already have had them.
• 1:05:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then you'd have one to settle on, one or two to settle on.
• 1:05:10
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, if um this world, yes, it's full of surprises, and so if you're not prepared for it, and it takes you by surprise, you'll be found wanting.
• 1:05:24
  SPEAKER_04: I like that.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_04: It's always so awesome to listen to you, and it's even more awesome to converse with you.
• 1:05:32
  SPEAKER_04: And I really hope, as you're watching, this conversation has taken you one step closer to being the mastermind that I know you deserve to be.
• 1:05:41
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much for honoring my invitation.
• 1:05:43
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you too.
• 1:05:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you too, every chair.
• 1:05:45
  SPEAKER_04: To be continued, you'll come back again.
• 1:05:50
  SPEAKER_04: Thanks for watching this episode.
• 1:05:52
  SPEAKER_04: The fact that you stayed all the way through to the end tells me that you're not only curious, but you have the discipline to see what you do all the way through to the end.
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_04: Now let's build a community of thinkers who are ready to become the best version of themselves.
• 1:06:08
  SPEAKER_04: So subscribe to the channel and the mindset that you will develop and grow every day to become a true mastermind.