0:00 Welcome back to the Change Your Mind podcast.
0:02 I'm your host, Kris Ashley and I'm really excited about today's guest.
0:06 I was a guest on his podcast and I loved his story so much.
0:11 It was so inspirational that I had to have him.
0:13 Come on and lucky for all of us, he agreed.
0:16 - 0:47 [Intro]
0:48 So today I have with me, Scott Proposki, he is a former National Geographic and White House photographer.
0:55 And over the pandemic, he launched his own business, which is helping photographers build their business, helping them out on the business side.
1:04 So if you're a photographer, you definitely want to jump on this one.
1:06 He's also the host of the three o'clock podcast of which I was a guest and had a great time.
1:11 So, go give it a listen.
1:13 And I, I'm so excited to have you here, Scott.
1:15 Welcome.
1:16 Yeah.
1:17 No, thanks.
1:17 , actually,, Kris Ashley, we were joking about our last podcast we're on and we said, I, I just love people with two first names.
1:25 It was kind of a joke and you gave me this great story about your name and your background, which I'm sure everybody knows.
1:30 But I, I just love the story in the back end stories.
1:33 And I love talking about stories and storytelling, which is why we both get along so well in our conversations about storytelling.
1:41 So I kind of like that.
1:43 Yeah, it's funny.
1:44 No one has heard that story on my podcast.
1:46 So maybe I'll have to break it out on another, another episode.
1:50 But just for everyone listening, who's like, what is he talking about?
1:53 Ashley is actually my middle name and it's an ode to my father, which is why I went with this.
1:57 But,, Scott, I'm so excited to have you here.
2:01 Would you mind telling listeners a little bit about your background?
2:04 I know I gave a quick bio but things like National Geographic White House that's probably getting people's attention right now.
2:11 You know, it does and when you live it and you're in it because it, it, it's different.
2:17 , you know, when you look at other people is a grass, always greener somewhere else.
2:22 And you're like, gosh, I really, this would be my dream job.
2:24 , but when you get there, it just feels like everything else.
2:30 And I more reflected back on it.
2:33 20 years later, it was 20 years.
2:34 I was in the business and these amazing accounts and just amazing opportunities I've had and one just rolled into the next one national go landed to timing, timing landed to Fox News Corp.
2:46 Fox News Corp led to something else and it was just a snowball effect.
2:50 And,, it literally wasn't until 20 years later during the pandemic, I sat down and wrote a book and my gosh, I got a lot of great stories I can help somebody with.
2:59 , so it, it kind of happens, you know, like a lot of people are in businesses, they make it up as they go.
3:06 , which is good and bad depends upon what you want to grow.
3:12 But I completely made it up as I went really fast.
3:17 But the most important thing is I stayed in my same lane.
3:21 I stayed in the same lane and I, and I, I stayed consistent.
3:24 What I wanted to do, which is work with corporate clients and, and be adventurous and just like, think about the impossible, just I could do it, think of the impossible.
3:36 I love that.
3:37 And it's so in line with everything that I talk about in my book and on my show that if you can dream it, it can happen, right?
3:44 Quantum physics even said that every possible future exists out there in a state of rest, you have to choose it.
3:50 And what's amazing is you chose it and you went for it.
3:53 So I know you said that one kind of snowballed into the next and it's kind of maybe that like who you know, situation.
4:00 But for all of those people listening that are like, wait, I don't, I didn't land on National Geographic.
4:07 How do you even get started with something like that?
4:09 How did National Geographic?
4:11 That was the first one, right?
4:12 Like, how did that come to be?
4:15 I call them, I call them.
4:19 I love that answer.
4:21 Many people in what I found is once I called them that I got into what we call that space, right?
4:29 That there wasn't a lot of competition.
4:33 So it was actually easier to get than my local little Leagues and my local events where there was so many more people, there was a lot more competition, you know, that whole, you know, it was just being commoditized, right?
4:49 Versus dealing with high level corporate clients didn't really even have to send proposals.
4:57 Ok, we'll do it.
5:00 I love that so much and you have to elaborate on the little league story a little bit because you told me that before and which is part of the reason why I want you on the show.
5:10 But, you know, people tend to have this,, this, this thought in their mind that everyone's going after those big dogs, right?
5:19 Like National Geographic and like the White House and, and, and what, what is it, what do you think it is?
5:25 Why, why are people going after these smaller fish?
5:30 Why are people so afraid to go after those bigger ones?
5:34 Limited beliefs?
5:36 Right?
5:37 I mean, we all have it at some level but you can say, oh, you know, and also the people, the people you surround yourself with, you know, if you're surrounding with yourself and your friends or you know, it could be your husband or your wife and you say, hey, you know what?
5:52 I think I'm gonna call the White House trying to be a photographer, right?
5:56 I mean, it's reasonable to say that maybe your spouse would say, what are you crazy?
6:00 But there is a lot to be said about the people you surround yourself with.
6:06 because the people, the people I surround myself with are all entrepreneurs and we just call ourselves a whole bunch of misfits because we'll mention an idea and each one of us will say, wow, that's awesome.
6:18 That's a great idea, right?
6:19 Versus most people would say, what are you crazy?
6:23 It's just the way we think and these, I surround myself with just these crazy thinkers that, that are that you know they're doing, it's just, you know, it's bragging, it's only bragging rights till after you do it and they have bragging rights.
6:37 I love that so much because it's all about your mindset.
6:41 And if you're telling your dreams to someone that's shooting them down, it, it's gonna get into your own head.
6:48 Right.
6:49 And if, if you surround yourself with people who are achieving higher things than you, it's gonna, it's gonna drive you, right?
6:56 You're gonna move up to their level.
6:59 Ok.
6:59 So you called, you called National Geographic, you had this idea, was there any kind of fear going through your mind?
7:05 Like what was going through your head when you made that call?
7:08 Or you would like, I'm just gonna throw it out there and see what happened.
7:11 Like, what was that process?
7:12 There was no fear.
7:16 It, it was so, there was at, I was at a point, no point of return, like, why wouldn't they do it?
7:24 I mean, when I look back, like I would do a job in New York City for ABC.
7:28 I was, this is legitimate, a real story.
7:31 I was doing, a photography program for ABC, which is part of Disney and I was taking pictures of Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus.
7:41 Ok.
7:41 When Miley is six years old, seven years old, it probably wasn't as big as today, right?
7:46 But still, still a big job.
7:49 And so I would wait, be all set up but time ink was across the street where I was.
7:54 So I said, you know what?
7:55 I got an extra hour.
7:57 Why don't I run across the street to time in which is where Sports Illustrated is.
8:01 And let me just stop in and say hi because I'm not here in, in the city that often I leave one venue.
8:06 Jump across street to time in, walk into Sports Illustrated office and sit down and have a conversation for a few minutes.
8:12 Hey, I'm in town.
8:13 I just wanted to say hello and then you know, leave there and go back to the, you know, Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus on a photoshoot and pick up where I left off.
8:22 There was the time where I was like, I'm all set up.
8:25 I'm not gonna leave.
8:26 Why would I leave?
8:27 Right?
8:27 Everything's good.
8:28 I'm, I'm already nervous, right?
8:29 But it was just so much confidence level that I knew that I, well, I might as well take advantage of my time and let me do this to do this and do that.
8:35 And there was no fear.
8:38 Fear is the factor right?
8:40 Where it didn't matter.
8:42 It really didn't matter.
8:46 OK.
8:46 So what got you to that mindset?
8:48 What got you to that point of no return as you say was it, were you always like that?
8:52 Were you born like that?
8:53 Was it instilled in you?
8:56 What do you think some people would say?
8:59 I just didn't know better.
9:01 Mhm.
9:01 , honestly you don't know what, you don't know.
9:08 I love that.
9:09 You don't know what you don't know.
9:10 And I didn't know what I didn't know.
9:11 And this is at the time that's all I knew.
9:14 And it just no other, it was, it was like, well, if I do this I got to do that.
9:19 It wasn't that, it was like, if I can do this, I can do this.
9:22 If I do that, I can do this.
9:24 It's like you saw the path open up before you kind of thing.
9:28 Yeah, it was not a, you know, it was, it got to a point where I got comfortable being uncomfortable.
9:35 , I love that.
9:38 Yeah.
9:38 Really?
9:38 I mean, it's like you almost get hooked on that feeling after a while.
9:44 Right?
9:44 It's like, it's no, it is.
9:48 , it is,, an ad adrenaline.
9:51 I can't speak with my Boston accent here but it, it definitely,, it gets in you and,, yeah, just like, you know, news reporters and anchor reporters and that live at the scene and, you know, war zones and all sorts of crazy things like that.
10:06 And it's, it's, it's, it's, it's just ok.
10:11 So I want to go back to that Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus story because you told it to me before.
10:16 But there was a little bit more to it, there was something that you overheard and then a connection with your own dad.
10:21 And I'd love for you to share that story with listeners because I loved it so much.
10:25 Yeah.
10:25 And, you know, again, it wasn't, until 20 years later, I, I realized as I was writing my book, you know, I was sitting down and really hyper focussed and writing my book and these stories came to me because I, I didn't really overthink them.
10:41 Time went on so fast and when I actually sat down and thought about the stories and I have an amazing, remarkable ability to remember stories and like massive detail.
10:53 This is what I do and it wasn't until really later on that, I thought of the story and I wrote it in my book about when I met with Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus.
11:03 And it was a photo shoot in New York City.
11:05 And my dad was a photographer and, he was in the retirement age and I said, dad, why do you come out for a ride with me?
11:12 I got, I got this little photo shoot to do and he's like, ok, come for the ride.
11:19 And,, and so, you know, we set up, it was no big deal and we set up for the photo shoot and, you know, just it's fine and I was really setting up the cameras and the lights and my dad kind of walked away and he came back and he goes, hey Scott, he goes,, you see this microphone here and it was like all these diamonds on it and reflect, you know, I don't know, real diamonds or whatever the case, maybe, you know, this really nice microphone, right?
11:44 Really?
11:45 You know, clammed out and he goes, hey, that guy over there said this, this microphone is gonna end up in the Smithsonian and my dad would roll his eyes like, yeah, whatever.
11:57 And I said dad, who who said that to you?
12:00 He was that guy over there with the long hair.
12:01 You don't like the mu they call that a mullet.
12:04 And I said oh yeah, that's, that's Billy Ray Cyrus.
12:08 And he goes, oh I said, dad just hang on to the microphone if he, if he told you don't lose it, just, just, just, just kind of hang on to it right now.
12:16 He goes, all right, whatever.
12:19 Don't lose that microphone.
12:21 I go, he goes OK, whatever.
12:23 So it was, it was really, you know, it was Billy Ray was Miley, my dad was there and a few other people doing the photo shoot and during the whole time of the photo shoot, I just couldn't help but overhear Billy Ray Cyrus about how Miley was that microphone was gonna go in the, in the Smithsonian and she was going to be a rock star and you could just hear the vibe and the voice and you just parrot and you know, it was, it was true.
12:49 It was believable.
12:50 There wasn't, there was a point of no return for her but the environment of being with her dad and this is what's gonna happen.
12:58 We're gonna do this.
12:59 It wasn't a Porsche.
13:00 Like people wanna, like, son, you gotta play baseball because I want to play baseball and your kid doesn't want to play baseball.
13:06 Right?
13:06 And you force the kid to do it.
13:08 I mean, Mary was a true rock star and, and, and she had the support to get to where she wants to be and, you know, wherever that may be and her goals.
13:17 And I just thought it was remarkable, but what I didn't realize is that I was here with Molly, was there with her dad and I was there with my dad, but my dad was there just as much to promote me just like Miley Cyrus because at the time I was just in my business, I was just getting into these accounts, didn't land all the now, you know, the, the bigger accounts, the White House President Obama and so forth and so on.
13:44 And it was the point of no return just like Billy Ray was doing her.
13:47 No, her dad was, my dad was doing the same thing, but they only really realize it's 20 years later.
13:56 I have goosebumps.
13:57 I love that so much and I love that you overheard Billy Ray saying she's gonna be a rock star.
14:03 This is what she's gonna do this is what she's going to accomplish.
14:06 Like, no doubt in his voice.
14:08 And can you imagine hearing that as a six year old girl?
14:12 It's like, yeah, I can achieve anything.
14:14 Like, why would, why would I ever doubt this?
14:17 My dad believes in me.
14:18 You know, there was no other option.
14:21 Yeah.
14:22 Like, was it?
14:23 Well, no, let me just stay home and I'm gonna do, there was no other option.
14:29 Yeah.
14:29 It's, it's so important the way, I mean, as someone who's pregnant and thinking about Children, it's, it's so important the way that we talk to and about our Children because that voice that people hear, especially before the age of seven when they're in that theta brainwave state, they're just downloading information that becomes their inner voice.
14:50 You know, and I'm sure your dad did this exact same thing for you.
14:53 So, that's such a beautiful story.
14:56 Yeah, I was, I was talking, I was talking, speaking to my dad.
14:58 I was talking to him just yesterday.
15:00 Yeah.
15:00 And we talk about little, you know, little stories will come up and I was on the phone with them and, and,, he goes, Scott, you know, you could write a book about all the things you did.
15:11 I said dad, I did and I'll tell you why I did it because all through those years and 20 years of, of growing up and doing these really like this, my dad would roll his head, he goes, Scott, you gotta add this to your book one day and he, and he, and he said that to me for 20 years as well.
15:28 Flips try that.
15:31 We are, we're testing our camera here and for another project and I'm trying to set this all up to be camera focused.
15:39 , but he said it for years, you have to add that to your book one day, you have to add it to your book one day.
15:45 So when the time came, I actually already knew I was gonna write a book.
15:49 Yeah.
15:51 So I wrote the book.
15:52 It was pretty easy to do.
15:56 But yeah, anyway, so, yeah, the power of, of, of the environment of the environments the people you surround yourself with is actually more than, more than knowledge, sometimes more powerful.
16:10 It's, it's everything.
16:11 Yeah.
16:12 And you made me think about it too.
16:16 I, I totally forgot when I was prepping for this episode all about your podcast.
16:20 So that's just another example of how you just step outside of your comfort zone.
16:25 So you have the three o'clock podcast.
16:27 Can you tell people how that came about and what your experience with it has been because I love that story too.
16:33 Yeah.
16:34 I call it the three o'clock Coffee podcast.
16:36 Gonna have the coffee in it.
16:38 It's like everything, you know.
16:39 I mean coffee to me is like, I I started that 10 years ago.
16:46 , and I didn't really call it a podcast then, but what I would actually do is, is go out and, and meet people at three o'clock.
16:58 And how it all really happened was, is my childhood friend, Bobby, we shared an office together as we were growing the business and,, Bobby ended up with pancreatic cancer.
17:12 Hm.
17:14 And,, it was fast, but all during that time as we were in, start up in the office, we were like, we were like,, we're like two little girls, as we said, talking, didn't get anything,, from our perspective.
17:30 And,, you know, Scott, we gotta stop talking to each other because we're not getting anything done.
17:36 And so he says, how about, we just stop at three o'clock, we'll just meet up and we'll have a cup of coffee and, and,, you know, you tell me what's going on with your, you know, your deals and I'll tell you what's going on with my deals and we did for many years and we just stop for three o'clock and have coffee.
17:51 But after Bob passed,, three o'clock came and there was just nobody to talk to.
17:58 And,, it was him and I in the office.
18:01 And,, so I, you know, Facebook was just starting out at the time and I would put it on social media and say, hey,, who anybody want, want to meet me for three o'clock coffee, you know, local cafe or Starbucks where I was at and people would show up,, just different people and,, they went on and, you know, every once a while, like every week I'd, I'd meet somebody.
18:24 But then I said, you know what, let's, let's step this up a little bit.
18:27 I want to really meet some, like, not that my friends and local people weren't interested, but I wanted to meet some really big CEO'S and understand what they think and how they talk.
18:37 So I reached out to some, like, really big CEO'S 50 million 100 $100 million CEO'S big companies and I'd call them up and say, hey,, Ed,, you know, my name is Scott and so forth.
18:47 I just wanna know.
18:48 Would, would you, would you go to, would you meet me for coffee at three o'clock?
18:52 , and is Thursday or Friday open for you?
18:56 Yeah.
18:56 Ok.
18:57 There's, yeah, I'll let my assistant call you set it all up and I'm like, ok.
19:00 And then I would drive like, seven hours or eight hours in bed somewhere in New Jersey or somewhere and just sit down and have coffee with them.
19:08 I didn't tell him anything just really to be a friend.
19:11 And what I found was,, again, nobody does this.
19:17 Yeah.
19:18 And so when you sit down with $100 million CEO and you just would comment I'm not selling anything.
19:22 I just like, hey, I wanna have a conversation and,, you know, and you sit down and you just wanna be a friend.
19:31 People of a very large company, unfortunately don't have a lot of friends.
19:38 Yeah.
19:38 It's lonely at the top.
19:39 Right.
19:40 You know, because you really can't talk to a lot of coworkers.
19:42 It's all business, business, business.
19:46 I, I mean, I'm, I don't know anybody in the, I don't know anybody.
19:49 Right.
19:49 So it becomes more of a friendship really fast.
19:53 And so today, a lot of those people that I met over the years are still my friends of these very, very large companies.
20:03 And it, it's just really remarkable that people I have not and it goes back to the zero competition because nobody is really being genuine enough to say, hey, I just want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with you and see how you started the business.
20:18 Well, I'm sure too that when people do actually reach out, they're pitching something, right?
20:24 They're, they're not just like, hey, let's just, let's just, you know, shoot the shit and just tell me about your life, you know, tell me your story and it's probably, they just probably don't see these people as human beings and to some extent, right?
20:39 Because when someone's like that successful, it's, it's almost like you put them on another level and you forget that they're just a person.
20:48 Oh, yeah, I mean, I would,, I mean, that's how I landed the Boston Celtics and the New England Patriots coming up.
20:56 Sorry.
20:56 Yeah.
20:57 So,, so I was dealing with,, early on, I wanted, you know, the Celtics were looking for photographers and do events.
21:05 So I know the intern at the time a few years back and he got kind of a, he got a promotion and so I reached out to him like, hey, I'm Tristan.
21:14 I'm, I wanna know if you want to go to lunch, we'll go across the street to the forest.
21:18 It's a big sports place in Boston, the forest, you know.
21:22 And on the whole menu is named after all the sports players, Bobby or Ivory Bird.
21:26 And so it's, it was a popular place.
21:29 He goes, yeah.
21:29 Ok.
21:30 Sure.
21:31 Go on to Boston and met him and he's at the door and hey, Jake, thanks for being with me.
21:37 Sat down, he was very standoffish and we sat down and, I just like asked him, you know, where do you live?
21:44 Where do you go to college?
21:45 What's going on?
21:46 What's up?
21:48 And,, you know, stepped on that, you know, I'd ask some questions.
21:50 You talk the whole time about an hour and a half, didn't really say that much.
21:58 I just ask a bunch of good questions and just before we finished, you know, lunch and he goes, you know, Scott, I'm gonna be, I'm buying dinner, I'm buying, it was actually end up dinner.
22:07 We stayed so long.
22:08 He goes, I'm, I'm buying and,, didn't, you didn't mention anything about wanting tickets?
22:15 How can I get my family and friends into the games and favors?
22:20 And you didn't even mention the Celtics or any player?
22:23 You, he goes, why, why?
22:26 As in I, I wanted to meet with you just have a conversation is, do you want the business?
22:33 Photography?
22:33 I said, I said, yeah, you know what I do.
22:36 If you want to do it, that's fine.
22:39 We can, we can have that conversation and he goes, no, but now on, you're my guy and this is what we're doing.
22:45 We'll go with you.
22:47 Seven years later, we went on for seven years and Celtics were, were great clients and it went on for quite a bit which actually led to the, the Bruins and the Patriots.
22:59 And because you're like, hey, if he's over the Celtics, what are they doing over there?
23:03 We want him at the Bruins.
23:04 So it, it became a, it became the snowball effect, right?
23:08 And just honestly just because I was having a conversation with somebody that's amazing.
23:17 I don't know if you've ever read the book, how to win friends and influence people.
23:21 But one of the things they say is just Dale Carnegie says is just ask questions, be interested in the other person's life because so many people come into a conversation with their own agenda, talking about themselves, but people love to talk about themselves, right?
23:36 And so many people aren't asked about themselves and, and, and, and that comes in like I'm not saying that in a manipulative way, like genuinely the interest in other people's stories because they're fascinating.
23:47 But the fact that you were just so genuinely interested and came from such a down to earth place, that's probably so refreshing for so many people.
23:55 Ok.
23:55 So you just, you just looked at these big companies, found the phone number called the CEO.
24:02 That's what happened.
24:03 Yeah, I love it so much.
24:06 Yeah, I actually, I was on,, I was watching television one day and,, my dad actually called me again.
24:11 He said, hey, did you watching Shark Tank?
24:14 I said, let me say that with a really strong Boston accent.
24:17 Hey, Scott, you watching Shark Tank?
24:21 And I said, no dad, I'm not, you know, he goes, oh, I think you should put it on.
24:25 I'm like, ok, so I put it on and,, there was an episode where,,, this guy, his name M Allen, he was, he was on the show and he was pitching hiresanta.com to Ping what, I know Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus.
24:44 So hire santa.com.
24:47 Hire, hire santa.com.
24:49 Happy to promote it.
24:50 And that's the name of the company hiresanta.com.
24:52 So he was pitching the business to Barba Cochran to buy the business, you know, percentage and, you know, jump in and help out.
25:00 Right.
25:01 And,,, to build a business, to be the biggest, you know,, employment agency, I guess you could say for,, Santa Claus.
25:12 Yeah.
25:13 So if you need to Santa Claus, anywhere in the country today, you go to hiresanta.com and you can find a Santa Claus.
25:21 It's like an agency, it's like an acting agency.
25:23 But for Santa, ok, so see on Shark Tank and I was in a coaching program, I knew some people and I searched for his number and I got, you know, I talked to someone and I'm like, listen, I really want to talk to Mitch.
25:35 Yeah.
25:35 Can you pass my name around?
25:37 Oops, go back to this.
25:40 I'm a photographer that can't keep the camera on.
25:42 Well, you're not a videographer.
25:44 So it's OK.
25:45 Well, now I'm practicing with this camera here and I'm trying to get it all work anyways.
25:50 working on another project, told them the story.
25:52 And so all of a sudden I got a text like a week later and said,, hey Scott.
25:58 I heard you were looking for me and I'm like, Mitch Mitch out.
26:02 She goes, yeah, yeah, I heard you do but I'm like, yeah, hey, bitch, how are you?
26:06 I'm like, bitch, I tell you what, I know you're busy guy.
26:08 How about, can we meet for coffee?
26:10 This week.
26:10 , he goes, yeah.
26:11 How about Thursday?
26:12 Ok, Thursday at three o'clock.
26:14 Absolutely.
26:14 Ok.
26:15 I'll see you Thursday at three o'clock.
26:16 , meet me at the office.
26:18 No, I know where you are.
26:19 I'll find you.
26:20 Ok, Scott.
26:21 Now, I'm in Boston.
26:23 He's in Dallas, Texas.
26:25 Oh, no.
26:29 So I jumped on a plane that morning.
26:30 Get down there.
26:32 I, I fly out of Dallas and,, I get an Uber and I show up at his office.
26:39 I, you know, I got not luggage but I got bag right and I walked to his office like, bitch, he goes, Scott, let's make it.
26:46 So he sits down for a few minutes and obviously my strong Boston accent is extremely strong when you're in Dallas, Texas.
26:53 Yeah.
26:53 And he, and he looks around and he sees my bag and you know, probably a little dish jumping off the plane.
26:58 He goes, did you just, so I'm here from Boston right now for coffee.
27:04 Like you just got up, you just got here from Boston right now.
27:07 Yeah, it's like it's only a three hour flight.
27:09 , he goes, that's coffee.
27:14 I should do I tell you what, I gotta pick my kids up at soccer.
27:18 How about I need, we stay da da da, I'm gonna bring my kids to soccer.
27:22 Let's go out to a really great dinner.
27:24 I'm gonna, let's have dinner together.
27:26 Yeah, like great.
27:27 So we went to dinner, we had a great dinner.
27:29 And we had great conversations and it was many years ago and I'm still friends with Mitch.
27:33 I can actually send him a text right now.
27:35 He'll get back to me.
27:36 And,, and we've had a lot of great conversations again.
27:39 I, I've not, I've done, I'm a photographer.
27:41 I did a lot of business in photography with Santa Claus, but I never asked him for business or, or vice versa.
27:47 We just have conversations and that was it, you know, but it was really great to know that all the insides of Shark Tank and how he got on there and, you know, just different thing and it was, you know, again, it was a friend that could actually kind of have a conversation with.
28:01 I love it.
28:02 And, yeah, I was just thinking as you were talking about this, you know, they say one of the biggest markers of longevity is having really sincere friendships in your life and there's not that many people that you can just call on.
28:16 I just don't want anything from you, you know, that just genuinely ii, I just love what you do so much.
28:23 I think it's more, you know, I started as many years ago.
28:25 I kind of grew into it as I just do it and call people.
28:28 But,, when I, when I do it now and I reach out to somebody, it's almost over the top because nobody does it and it looks like you're looking for something.
28:41 So it's, it's, it's so obvious that people just stop and say what, like no.
28:48 And,, so, yeah, it's very, it's very obvious today,, when I go out and meet somebody or have a conversation sometimes a little bit more difficult than it was even five years ago.
28:56 , but right now if anybody is listening, I'm trying to get a hold of,, I'm trying to get a hold of Tom Anderson, who's Tom Anderson?
29:07 I was waiting for you to ask.
29:08 Yeah.
29:10 Do you remember myspace?
29:12 Oh, yeah.
29:13 Is it myspace Tom myspace?
29:15 Tom?
29:16 I follow him on Instagram.
29:18 He has an Instagram.
29:19 Yeah.
29:19 And so so we haven't had this conversation yet.
29:23 So you follow him on Instagram?
29:26 What does Tom Anderson do for a living?
29:29 I have no idea.
29:30 I think he posts like travel photos every once in a while.
29:32 I have no idea what he does.
29:34 He's a professional photographer.
29:36 Oh, really?
29:38 Oh, cool.
29:38 I didn't know that.
29:40 So he, he is that he was a founder of myspace and by the time I was actually working at myspace during that whole time.
29:47 Ok.
29:48 And but you were working at myspace?
29:51 Yeah.
29:51 Doing what a photographer.
29:54 Ok.
29:55 So I was working with, actually I was working at Fox News Corp.
29:59 OK.
29:59 And then Fox News Corp purchased myspace myspace.
30:02 OK.
30:03 So I kind of got blended in there doing some work.
30:05 So I ended up finding myself in Los Angeles doing some photo works from myspace at the time when this whole transaction happened and hold on the story how I met a lot of the people there.
30:20 But what happened was so you have this individual myspace was the biggest company sold $248 million.
30:29 Wow.
30:30 Ok.
30:30 By the way, Tom has said this publicly, but he dropped out of school at sixth grade, sixth grade, sixth grade.
30:38 Wow.
30:40 He did end up going, he did end up going back to college and got a master's in NBA, so forth.
30:45 , have the money afterwards.
30:47 , but he left to become a photographer.
30:52 Wow, that's really cool.
30:54 And he did, he found myspace or was he just kind of the face of myspace?
30:58 No, it was him and a few other people, he was one of the founders.
31:01 , and they actually had the website, myspace.
31:05 , they had it and then they, they had to rebuy it back for like 10 bucks or something because they lost the website.
31:11 And,, it was actually bought it for another project they were doing and,, they bought it for a few bucks.
31:16 And,, yeah, and then Fox News Corp purchases them for $248 million.
31:23 And Tom has never gone back into corporate America.
31:26 , and he left and he, when he left there, he worked for a little bit for myspace.
31:32 Obviously an individual like that cannot work for Fox News Corp in that culture of, of a company as an entrepreneur, so young, true fact and he didn't and he left and traveled the world and became a photographer.
31:44 That's amazing.
31:45 So he actually just used that to follow his lifelong dream that he had since sixth grade.
31:51 That's beautiful.
31:53 Yeah.
31:53 To be photograph, I love it.
31:56 Good for him.
31:56 Well, I hope someone out here listening can help connect Scott and Tom.
32:01 Yeah, III I definitely wanna, I'm writing a book called keep thinking outside the box.
32:06 Keep thinking outside the box and an individual that obviously he was thinking outside the box, right?
32:12 And so I think it would be a great person as a photographer is a, is my feel in my history to interview such an individual who created the social media of the world and it was actually the first time digital cameras were out that we could actually share photographs with, with myspace.
32:28 So it was a really pinnacle point and change of time in history.
32:33 And then he would actually end up being a photographer.
32:38 I love it.
32:38 That's really cool.
32:39 Well, I hope you, I hope you get that connection.
32:41 I'm sure you will, you have a way of making things happen.
32:45 OK.
32:45 So you kind of glazed over it earlier, but I wanna circle back.
32:49 So, you know, now we know all the amazing clients that you've had big, big clients and you were trying to get to be a photographer in your local little league team and you couldn't do it.
33:01 So, tell us a little bit more about that.
33:04 Yeah.
33:04 So,, when I first started doing a lot of photography, I would do school, school photographs, school pictures.
33:11 And,, at the time, you know, even still today school pictures, they were really expensive for a lot of kids for p and just like there were a lot of money.
33:21 And so I end up going to Lawrence Bass where I grew up in a town, inner city school, inner city city.
33:28 And I said, yeah, I said, you know, what, how about we offer school photographs at affordable prices and we were selling school pictures for like $10 which is, it's still wild, right?
33:41 And so what actually what I found out was that historically in a and our inner city, low, low, you know, not very high income level town is that, they actually will purchase a lot more photos historically.
34:01 They don't have, you know, it's just, it's a privilege and it's like a great, you know, something they can get anywhere else and sales skyrocketed, just offering a minimum $10 package than everybody else and everybody else was charging 50 $60.
34:18 So when I would go down to the local little leagues, you know, it was obviously, it was down to price and it was always about price.
34:23 Right.
34:23 It's always about price.
34:24 Right.
34:24 So, I mean, I was low, it was $10 and everybody else was 40 $50 and I, I still couldn't land the jobs.
34:32 Like, why can't I get these jobs?
34:34 You know, I like, you know, I think I have it in my schedule.
34:36 I just came back from traveling with National Geo or, you know, you know, Sports Illustrated.
34:41 I was gonna drive and I, I, like, I didn't, I didn't, people knew who I was but I didn't play the card.
34:47 Now.
34:47 That wasn't the point is that I really wanted to do school pictures and build a business in my local neighborhood doing photography, school pictures and in local I could not get the job and you couldn't get the job because there was so much competition for it, which is so much competition, you know, who knew who and Sally Su and so forth and so on.
35:05 And I actually told Sports Illustrated that I'm like, it's amazing that,, I'm here with Sports Illustrated because I can't even land my local little league.
35:13 I bet I cracked them up.
35:15 Like, what, what are you, what are you talking about?
35:17 I'm like, I cannot get my local little League and I still didn't, I never got it.
35:21 I didn't get it.
35:22 I never got it.
35:23 Never got it.
35:24 Yeah.
35:24 No.
35:25 Well, there's still time.
35:27 Yeah.
35:28 Yes, ma'am.
35:29 But, yeah, I mean, again it goes back to competition and, and,, yeah, everybody's chasing the same, they're chasing the same thing.
35:41 Do you think it has to do with people thinking that they're only worthy of getting those small fish and not going after the big catches?
35:50 You think it's like a self worth kind of thing?
35:52 Oh, I completely, and I don't think the mindset actually says it that way in your mind but it's almost like,, I can never do that.
36:02 Yeah.
36:02 Like your brain talks you out of it.
36:04 You don't even go there.
36:05 Most people don't even go there.
36:06 .
36:08 Right.
36:08 Because you tell yourself stories like, oh, they probably have so many people and it's all about who, you know, and you know the stories we tell ourselves.
36:17 Right.
36:18 , I tell people that all the time.
36:21 It's a story.
36:22 So you tell yourself.
36:24 Yeah.
36:24 And most of the stories are just complete BS, right?
36:27 Belief system.
36:29 Yeah.
36:29 Right.
36:29 You know, you, you know, you're healthy, deserve level.
36:32 Right.
36:34 So, what would you say to people who are afraid to leave their comfort zone?
36:41 Who are, who want to do these things that you do?
36:44 But have that, that fear factor stopping them.
36:47 What's your advice?
36:50 Yeah.
36:50 So it's,, you know, it's, it's a good question because, you know what, what really is the fear?
36:59 Is it?
36:59 Because they have three kids and they, you know, and it's a big change and they're there for the family and their kids.
37:08 You know, I, I believe you don't have, you don't have to do it all the time, full time and go all in but to break it down and just do a little bit.
37:18 Right.
37:19 It's not, we, we get it.
37:21 II, I was talking to somebody earlier.
37:22 We get, it's analysis by paralysis.
37:25 Hm.
37:26 We over think it like, oh, if I did that, I'm not gonna do this and like, oh man, I don't know if I could do that.
37:32 Just stop doing call.
37:34 Don't, don't leave your full time job.
37:36 Don't, don't put your house on the market to buy all this gear.
37:39 It's not about the gear.
37:41 It, it's, it really just starts with one phone call and one job.
37:46 Yeah.
37:46 And don't go, that's, it.
37:47 Don't think about anything else.
37:51 I love that.
37:51 Never underestimate the power of a small step.
37:54 Right.
37:54 Yeah.
37:55 Tiny, tiny habits.
37:56 And you really do miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
38:00 It's all up to you.
38:01 I, a mentor told me a long time ago, say yes until you have a really good reason to say no.
38:07 And I've just lived by that, you know, anytime an opportunity comes, but sometimes you have to go out and make your own opportunities like, like you had to and like you're saying, so yeah, I, I, you know, I really, again, not knowing you again.
38:20 You don't know what you don't know.
38:22 Ok.
38:23 And going into this, I didn't know what I didn't know.
38:26 And I learned along the way, which is why I like writing the books and talking to people.
38:31 , because there is a lot of information on the internet and youtube videos and there, there's a lot of false information too, you know, and they wanna, hey, you can do it too and sell you this and buy this and, you know, and all that good stuff and, and it's really hard to understand what's real and what's not.
38:49 Hm, you know, from sales to buying stuff, to listen to things and seeing people on the internet and social media and tiktok, you know.
38:57 Well, I saw on TikTok must be true.
39:00 No.
39:01 , so, yeah, I mean, I think people get, you know, I don't think they're ever fully grasping that but,, learning from somebody that's already been there, not somebody that wants to be there, but somebody who's been there.
39:16 , if they haven't been there, just enjoy the conversation until they've been there.
39:25 I mean, that's the person you want to talk to somebody that's been there.
39:30 That's such a beautiful advice.
39:32 And it just goes back to your idea of surround yourself with people who already have what you want, who are already successful, who are, have that mindset, right?
39:41 Who are driven because those are the kids that come from, you know what?
39:45 I, I wasn't a book reader growing up.
39:48 And I was probably about the last person in high school that would ever think that I would write a few books.
39:53 The last person.
39:54 , seriously.
39:57 But what I, you know, I didn't, I didn't, I never did my homework.
40:00 I never read a book.
40:01 I grown up.
40:02 I just, I didn't, and now I'm writing books and people don't believe I write the books but I can hyper focus on it.
40:07 But what I really found was you can find out any most CEOs and big companies out there have a book up.
40:15 Yeah.
40:16 You know, they either did it for mocking reasons or they had a, you know, somebody wrote it for him.
40:19 It doesn't matter.
40:19 Right.
40:20 It's their story.
40:21 And there is so much free information by just picking up a book you could eliminate,,, you know, Harvard University and Business and read 10 top textbooks on CEOs and some of the business, how they, how they built it.
40:37 It's amazing.
40:38 Absolutely.
40:39 Truly amazing.
40:40 The information that's out there.
40:41 I love that advice.
40:43 And I can't remember who said, I feel like Alex to moi or someone said something similar where it's like, yeah, you know him personally.
40:50 Yeah, of course you do.
40:51 Yeah.
40:52 , but I think it was him that said something like, you know, every time, you know, these people are giving you the best information, the best advice they can.
41:04 And a couple 100 pages like, why wouldn't you take that?
41:07 It's just like their best free advice.
41:10 So, yeah, I agree.
41:12 As a book, nerd, I totally agree.
41:13 And I'm actually reading one of Alex's books right now.
41:15 So awesome.
41:17 I, I met so many people.
41:18 I went to strategic coach,,, a coaching program in Toronto, Canada, Dan Sullivan,, founder of the company and so forth,, in that program just, it's for,, just an amazing, great, great program for,,, growing entrepreneurs that want to grow the business.
41:36 And I spent eight years there and I met some amazing people,, you know, coming in the door all the way up their name, people you see all the time that you would go, you, you wouldn't believe it.
41:50 , it, it's really amazing.
41:53 One of my, you know, one of my really good friends, Doctor Benjamin Hardy.
41:56 Ben Hardy wrote many different books and so forth and a good friend of mine, I could pick up the phone call and then, you know, we met 78 years ago, a coach and, and most people, you know, it's just style, you know, it's remarkable to see people that you knew and like, just grow so fast.
42:12 Yeah, especially when you're on that journey with them and then you get to celebrate all their wins with them.
42:17 Yeah.
42:18 Yeah.
42:18 It's pretty cool.
42:19 It's very cool.
42:20 Yeah.
42:21 Coaching.
42:21 Yeah.
42:22 Ok.
42:22 Advice for listeners, read books, join a coaching program.
42:27 Get a mentor that's already done it.
42:29 Right.
42:29 These are just golden nuggets.
42:32 Yeah.
42:32 Oh, yeah.
42:33 Yeah.
42:33 Yeah.
42:34 Matter of fact, as I was sitting in my, my text went off and,, one of my mentors I haven't talked to him about four or five years.
42:39 It's been thinking about him a lot.
42:41 Just sent me a text.
42:42 I'm like, oh, did he know of something?
42:44 So, yeah, I mean, you know, I had one growing up for many years and it's been a good friend of mine.
42:48 And if it wasn't for people like that, I don't really think small business would be danced so much.
42:54 It's amazing how many CEO's were.
42:56 I actually just called and I'm writing another book called Keep Thinking outside the box.
43:01 reach out to $100 million CEO running the business.
43:05 And people told me I was crazy like you, he's not gonna help you.
43:08 What is he gonna help you for?
43:09 And I called him and got him on a call, fast friends.
43:12 We have a one hour call every month and he's helped me on some inside information how to, you know about the book.
43:19 And I'm adding a lot of his content in the book and he just, he's passionate about helping entrepreneurs and business people and it's a good collaboration.
43:25 So I'm looking to launch that in 2024.
43:28 It's been, it's, it's fun in the middle of it all.
43:30 Right now.
43:30 But that's awesome.
43:33 I can't wait to read it.
43:34 What's your book called?
43:35 That's out right now, by the way.
43:37 Yeah.
43:37 So,, it's called Camera Focus.
43:39 Camera Focus Focus.
43:41 , and it's got all your amazing stories.
43:44 It's, it's, you know, I really try not to.
43:46 It's not about me.
43:48 It's not, it's, you know, I, you know, great storytelling is about,, the guy that tells the story.
43:56 Hm.
43:57 Right.
43:58 , You know, there's usually a villain and a hero, right?
44:02 Usually a villain and has a good story.
44:04 But I'm just a guy telling the story.
44:05 I'm a guy telling the story and that's how I like to do it.
44:08 Yeah, maybe it was stories that II I written there so I can talk about when I talk about Miley Cyrus and Billy Billy Ray Cyrus about the, the confidence level that she had to help her grow and be in that environment.
44:20 It's that story is not about me.
44:23 Yeah, and I, I'm making a point of somebody that people can relate to.
44:28 I just happen to be there and, you know, conversations like being with Michael Jackson and my experience of being with Michael Jackson or, or, you know, work with the Harry Potter premier and conversations had with Robin Williams.
44:41 I mean, I'm really, you know, I was very blessed to really have these great conversations with these amazing people.
44:47 and I just want to share some of these stories these 11 little one liners that really you know, that, you know, hey, they can help one person this, this story that is memorable because people remember stories.
45:01 Yeah.
45:02 And if it's memorable, then they'll remember it.
45:05 And if they can have a takeaway from that story, great, especially from beloved people like Robin Williams, I'm sure.
45:13 Yeah, that was, that was yeah, that was, I felt that one when all that went down,, what happened and, you know, he got sick and,, amazing individual and,, yeah, just really funny conversations I have with them.
45:28 Yeah.
45:28 Well, I can't read, wait to read the book.
45:30 I'm gonna have to buy a copy.
45:31 , so Scott, I loved having you on.
45:35 Thank you so much.
45:36 Can you tell people how that, how they can get in touch with you, how they can find you if they want to meet you for coffee?
45:41 How did they get in touch with you?
45:43 Yeah, anytime you're in the Boston area, I'll buy coffee.
45:46 , reach out to me.
45:47 , but it's very simple.
45:49 It's my first name and last name.
45:50 It's Scott Proposki
45:51 Whoops.
45:51 Hold on the cameras went out, we went to commercial break.
45:55 I just set this new set up in the studio here, so I'm trying to figure it out.
45:58 , you're good.
45:59 Don't worry about it, Scottproposki.com to keep it really simple.
46:03 Scottproposki.com.
46:04 , you go to the website and you can download some of my free books that are there and, and yeah, just have a conversation.
46:14 Maybe there was somebody that I could have a conversation about but by the way, camera focus is not really about photography.
46:22 Hm.
46:24 So camera focus is all about ADHD interesting and how, how to focus and somebody that has ADHD that can, that can find their superpowers.
46:41 And for me, it was the camera sky is the limit.
46:46 So for me, it was the camera, I could focus on the camera.
46:49 Nothing else mattered and I could be hyper focused about the camera and I can really focus on what I was doing.
46:57 So if we could find something that you can get hyper focus on.
47:01 Yeah, ADHD.
47:02 You do.
47:02 You don't, the, the point of matter is if you're so into it, a a point of no return, right?
47:13 This is what you wanna do and you could be hyper focused on it.
47:15 You use, use your ADHD as a superpower.
47:19 That's an excuse.
47:22 So how do you write a book, Scott?
47:23 You have ADHD.
47:24 How can you focus?
47:25 Because I love the stories I'm telling.
47:28 It's easy to do.
47:33 I love that piece of advice and I feel like that can go for so many things, so many of these things that we tell ourselves that are detrimental or are faults or that's wrong with us.
47:44 Can actually be our greatest assets, right?
47:47 Can be the the biggest thing we have going for us.
47:50 It's just that shift of perspective.
47:53 Yeah, and find, find what you love and getting that flow state in the present moment.
47:57 I love it.
47:59 Any last, any last thoughts for anyone or find your superpower, find your superpower.
48:08 Everybody has it.
48:10 Yeah.
48:11 Well, Scott, I really loved having you on.
48:13 Thank you so much.
48:14 I I was really excited for this conversation and it exceeded my expectations.
48:21 So thank you for everyone.
48:24 Yeah, thank you.
48:24 I appreciate it.
48:25 Thank you.
48:25 Yeah, thank you.
48:27 for everyone else.
48:28 Please like subscribe, follow share so we can keep spreading the good word.
48:33 Keep inspiring people.
48:34 Follow me.
48:35 I'm at Change Your Mind with Kris on Instagram, tiktok, youtube, of course, Facebook podcast.
48:42 I'm everywhere and check out my book, change your mind to change your reality.
48:47 And thank you all so much.
48:48 I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.
48:50 See you next time.
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