0:00Welcome back to the Change Your Mind podcast.
0:02I'm your host, Kris Ashley and I'm really excited about today's guest.
0:06I was a guest on his podcast and I loved his story so much.
0:11It was so inspirational that I had to have him.
0:13Come on and lucky for all of us, he agreed.
0:16 - 0:47[Intro]
0:48So today I have with me, Scott Proposki, he is a former National Geographic and White House photographer.
0:55And over the pandemic, he launched his own business, which is helping photographers build their business, helping them out on the business side.
1:04So if you're a photographer, you definitely want to jump on this one.
1:06He's also the host of the three o'clock podcast of which I was a guest and had a great time.
1:11So, go give it a listen.
1:13And I, I'm so excited to have you here, Scott.
1:15Welcome.
1:16Yeah.
1:17No, 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.
1:25It was kind of a joke and you gave me this great story about your name and your background, which I'm sure everybody knows.
1:30But I, I just love the story in the back end stories.
1:33And I love talking about stories and storytelling, which is why we both get along so well in our conversations about storytelling.
1:41So I kind of like that.
1:43Yeah, it's funny.
1:44No one has heard that story on my podcast.
1:46So maybe I'll have to break it out on another, another episode.
1:50But just for everyone listening, who's like, what is he talking about?
1:53Ashley is actually my middle name and it's an ode to my father, which is why I went with this.
1:57But,, Scott, I'm so excited to have you here.
2:01Would you mind telling listeners a little bit about your background?
2:04I know I gave a quick bio but things like National Geographic White House that's probably getting people's attention right now.
2:11You 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.
2:22And 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.
2:30And I more reflected back on it.
2:3320 years later, it was 20 years.
2:34I 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.
2:46Fox News Corp led to something else and it was just a snowball effect.
2:50And,, 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.
3:12But I completely made it up as I went really fast.
3:17But the most important thing is I stayed in my same lane.
3:21I stayed in the same lane and I, and I, I stayed consistent.
3:24What 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.
3:36I love that.
3:37And 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?
3:44Quantum physics even said that every possible future exists out there in a state of rest, you have to choose it.
3:50And what's amazing is you chose it and you went for it.
3:53So I know you said that one kind of snowballed into the next and it's kind of maybe that like who you know, situation.
4:00But for all of those people listening that are like, wait, I don't, I didn't land on National Geographic.
4:07How do you even get started with something like that?
4:09How did National Geographic?
4:11That was the first one, right?
4:12Like, how did that come to be?
4:15I call them, I call them.
4:19I love that answer.
4:21Many people in what I found is once I called them that I got into what we call that space, right?
4:29That there wasn't a lot of competition.
4:33So 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?
4:49Versus dealing with high level corporate clients didn't really even have to send proposals.
4:57Ok, we'll do it.
5:00I 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.
5:10But, you know, people tend to have this,, this, this thought in their mind that everyone's going after those big dogs, right?
5:19Like National Geographic and like the White House and, and, and what, what is it, what do you think it is?
5:25Why, why are people going after these smaller fish?
5:30Why are people so afraid to go after those bigger ones?
5:34Limited beliefs?
5:36Right?
5:37I 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?
5:52I think I'm gonna call the White House trying to be a photographer, right?
5:56I mean, it's reasonable to say that maybe your spouse would say, what are you crazy?
6:00But there is a lot to be said about the people you surround yourself with.
6:06because 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.
6:18That's a great idea, right?
6:19Versus most people would say, what are you crazy?
6:23It'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.
6:37I love that so much because it's all about your mindset.
6:41And if you're telling your dreams to someone that's shooting them down, it, it's gonna get into your own head.
6:48Right.
6:49And if, if you surround yourself with people who are achieving higher things than you, it's gonna, it's gonna drive you, right?
6:56You're gonna move up to their level.
6:59Ok.
6:59So you called, you called National Geographic, you had this idea, was there any kind of fear going through your mind?
7:05Like what was going through your head when you made that call?
7:08Or you would like, I'm just gonna throw it out there and see what happened.
7:11Like, what was that process?
7:12There was no fear.
7:16It, it was so, there was at, I was at a point, no point of return, like, why wouldn't they do it?
7:24I mean, when I look back, like I would do a job in New York City for ABC.
7:28I was, this is legitimate, a real story.
7:31I was doing, a photography program for ABC, which is part of Disney and I was taking pictures of Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus.
7:41Ok.
7:41When Miley is six years old, seven years old, it probably wasn't as big as today, right?
7:46But still, still a big job.
7:49And so I would wait, be all set up but time ink was across the street where I was.
7:54So I said, you know what?
7:55I got an extra hour.
7:57Why don't I run across the street to time in which is where Sports Illustrated is.
8:01And let me just stop in and say hi because I'm not here in, in the city that often I leave one venue.
8:06Jump across street to time in, walk into Sports Illustrated office and sit down and have a conversation for a few minutes.
8:12Hey, I'm in town.
8:13I 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.
8:22There was the time where I was like, I'm all set up.
8:25I'm not gonna leave.
8:26Why would I leave?
8:27Right?
8:27Everything's good.
8:28I'm, I'm already nervous, right?
8:29But 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.
8:35And there was no fear.
8:38Fear is the factor right?
8:40Where it didn't matter.
8:42It really didn't matter.
8:46OK.
8:46So what got you to that mindset?
8:48What got you to that point of no return as you say was it, were you always like that?
8:52Were you born like that?
8:53Was it instilled in you?
8:56What do you think some people would say?
8:59I just didn't know better.
9:01Mhm.
9:01, honestly you don't know what, you don't know.
9:08I love that.
9:09You don't know what you don't know.
9:10And I didn't know what I didn't know.
9:11And this is at the time that's all I knew.
9:14And it just no other, it was, it was like, well, if I do this I got to do that.
9:19It wasn't that, it was like, if I can do this, I can do this.
9:22If I do that, I can do this.
9:24It's like you saw the path open up before you kind of thing.
9:28Yeah, it was not a, you know, it was, it got to a point where I got comfortable being uncomfortable.
9:35, I love that.
9:38Yeah.
9:38Really?
9:38I mean, it's like you almost get hooked on that feeling after a while.
9:44Right?
9:44It's like, it's no, it is.
9:48, it is,, an ad adrenaline.
9:51I 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.
10:06And it's, it's, it's, it's, it's just ok.
10:11So I want to go back to that Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus story because you told it to me before.
10:16But there was a little bit more to it, there was something that you overheard and then a connection with your own dad.
10:21And I'd love for you to share that story with listeners because I loved it so much.
10:25Yeah.
10:25And, 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.
10:41Time 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.
10:53This 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.
11:03And it was a photo shoot in New York City.
11:05And 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?
11:12I got, I got this little photo shoot to do and he's like, ok, come for the ride.
11:19And,, 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?
11:44Really?
11:45You 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.
11:57And I said dad, who who said that to you?
12:00He was that guy over there with the long hair.
12:01You don't like the mu they call that a mullet.
12:04And I said oh yeah, that's, that's Billy Ray Cyrus.
12:08And 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.
12:16He goes, all right, whatever.
12:19Don't lose that microphone.
12:21I go, he goes OK, whatever.
12:23So 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.
12:49It was believable.
12:50There 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.
12:58We're gonna do this.
12:59It wasn't a Porsche.
13:00Like people wanna, like, son, you gotta play baseball because I want to play baseball and your kid doesn't want to play baseball.
13:06Right?
13:06And you force the kid to do it.
13:08I 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.
13:17And 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.
13:44And it was the point of no return just like Billy Ray was doing her.
13:47No, her dad was, my dad was doing the same thing, but they only really realize it's 20 years later.
13:56I have goosebumps.
13:57I love that so much and I love that you overheard Billy Ray saying she's gonna be a rock star.
14:03This is what she's gonna do this is what she's going to accomplish.
14:06Like, no doubt in his voice.
14:08And can you imagine hearing that as a six year old girl?
14:12It's like, yeah, I can achieve anything.
14:14Like, why would, why would I ever doubt this?
14:17My dad believes in me.
14:18You know, there was no other option.
14:21Yeah.
14:22Like, was it?
14:23Well, no, let me just stay home and I'm gonna do, there was no other option.
14:29Yeah.
14:29It'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.
14:50You know, and I'm sure your dad did this exact same thing for you.
14:53So, that's such a beautiful story.
14:56Yeah, I was, I was talking, I was talking, speaking to my dad.
14:58I was talking to him just yesterday.
15:00Yeah.
15:00And 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.
15:11I 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.
15:28Flips try that.
15:31We 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.
15:45So when the time came, I actually already knew I was gonna write a book.
15:49Yeah.
15:51So I wrote the book.
15:52It was pretty easy to do.
15:56But 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.
16:10It's, it's everything.
16:11Yeah.
16:12And you made me think about it too.
16:16I, I totally forgot when I was prepping for this episode all about your podcast.
16:20So that's just another example of how you just step outside of your comfort zone.
16:25So you have the three o'clock podcast.
16:27Can you tell people how that came about and what your experience with it has been because I love that story too.
16:33Yeah.
16:34I call it the three o'clock Coffee podcast.
16:36Gonna have the coffee in it.
16:38It's like everything, you know.
16:39I 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.
16:58And 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.
17:12Hm.
17:14And,, 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.
17:30And,, you know, Scott, we gotta stop talking to each other because we're not getting anything done.
17:36And 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.
17:51But after Bob passed,, three o'clock came and there was just nobody to talk to.
17:58And,, it was him and I in the office.
18:01And,, 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.
18:24But then I said, you know what, let's, let's step this up a little bit.
18:27I 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.
18:37So 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.
18:47I just wanna know.
18:48Would, 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?
18:56Yeah.
18:56Ok.
18:57There's, yeah, I'll let my assistant call you set it all up and I'm like, ok.
19:00And 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.
19:08I didn't tell him anything just really to be a friend.
19:11And what I found was,, again, nobody does this.
19:17Yeah.
19:18And so when you sit down with $100 million CEO and you just would comment I'm not selling anything.
19:22I just like, hey, I wanna have a conversation and,, you know, and you sit down and you just wanna be a friend.
19:31People of a very large company, unfortunately don't have a lot of friends.
19:38Yeah.
19:38It's lonely at the top.
19:39Right.
19:40You know, because you really can't talk to a lot of coworkers.
19:42It's all business, business, business.
19:46I, I mean, I'm, I don't know anybody in the, I don't know anybody.
19:49Right.
19:49So it becomes more of a friendship really fast.
19:53And so today, a lot of those people that I met over the years are still my friends of these very, very large companies.
20:03And 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.
20:18Well, I'm sure too that when people do actually reach out, they're pitching something, right?
20:24They'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?
20:39Because 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.
20:48Oh, yeah, I mean, I would,, I mean, that's how I landed the Boston Celtics and the New England Patriots coming up.
20:56Sorry.
20:56Yeah.
20:57So,, so I was dealing with,, early on, I wanted, you know, the Celtics were looking for photographers and do events.
21:05So 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.
21:14I'm, I wanna know if you want to go to lunch, we'll go across the street to the forest.
21:18It's a big sports place in Boston, the forest, you know.
21:22And on the whole menu is named after all the sports players, Bobby or Ivory Bird.
21:26And so it's, it was a popular place.
21:29He goes, yeah.
21:29Ok.
21:30Sure.
21:31Go on to Boston and met him and he's at the door and hey, Jake, thanks for being with me.
21:37Sat down, he was very standoffish and we sat down and, I just like asked him, you know, where do you live?
21:44Where do you go to college?
21:45What's going on?
21:46What's up?
21:48And,, you know, stepped on that, you know, I'd ask some questions.
21:50You talk the whole time about an hour and a half, didn't really say that much.
21:58I 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.
22:07We stayed so long.
22:08He goes, I'm, I'm buying and,, didn't, you didn't mention anything about wanting tickets?
22:15How can I get my family and friends into the games and favors?
22:20And you didn't even mention the Celtics or any player?
22:23You, he goes, why, why?
22:26As in I, I wanted to meet with you just have a conversation is, do you want the business?
22:33Photography?
22:33I said, I said, yeah, you know what I do.
22:36If you want to do it, that's fine.
22:39We can, we can have that conversation and he goes, no, but now on, you're my guy and this is what we're doing.
22:45We'll go with you.
22:47Seven 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.
22:59And because you're like, hey, if he's over the Celtics, what are they doing over there?
23:03We want him at the Bruins.
23:04So it, it became a, it became the snowball effect, right?
23:08And just honestly just because I was having a conversation with somebody that's amazing.
23:17I don't know if you've ever read the book, how to win friends and influence people.
23:21But 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?
23:36And 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.
23:47But 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.
23:55Ok.
23:55So you just, you just looked at these big companies, found the phone number called the CEO.
24:02That's what happened.
24:03Yeah, I love it so much.
24:06Yeah, I actually, I was on,, I was watching television one day and,, my dad actually called me again.
24:11He said, hey, did you watching Shark Tank?
24:14I said, let me say that with a really strong Boston accent.
24:17Hey, Scott, you watching Shark Tank?
24:21And I said, no dad, I'm not, you know, he goes, oh, I think you should put it on.
24:25I'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.
24:44So hire santa.com.
24:47Hire, hire santa.com.
24:49Happy to promote it.
24:50And that's the name of the company hiresanta.com.
24:52So he was pitching the business to Barba Cochran to buy the business, you know, percentage and, you know, jump in and help out.
25:00Right.
25:01And,,, to build a business, to be the biggest, you know,, employment agency, I guess you could say for,, Santa Claus.
25:12Yeah.
25:13So if you need to Santa Claus, anywhere in the country today, you go to hiresanta.com and you can find a Santa Claus.
25:21It's like an agency, it's like an acting agency.
25:23But 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.
25:35Yeah.
25:35Can you pass my name around?
25:37Oops, go back to this.
25:40I'm a photographer that can't keep the camera on.
25:42Well, you're not a videographer.
25:44So it's OK.
25:45Well, now I'm practicing with this camera here and I'm trying to get it all work anyways.
25:50working on another project, told them the story.
25:52And so all of a sudden I got a text like a week later and said,, hey Scott.
25:58I heard you were looking for me and I'm like, Mitch Mitch out.
26:02She goes, yeah, yeah, I heard you do but I'm like, yeah, hey, bitch, how are you?
26:06I'm like, bitch, I tell you what, I know you're busy guy.
26:08How about, can we meet for coffee?
26:10This week.
26:10, he goes, yeah.
26:11How about Thursday?
26:12Ok, Thursday at three o'clock.
26:14Absolutely.
26:14Ok.
26:15I'll see you Thursday at three o'clock.
26:16, meet me at the office.
26:18No, I know where you are.
26:19I'll find you.
26:20Ok, Scott.
26:21Now, I'm in Boston.
26:23He's in Dallas, Texas.
26:25Oh, no.
26:29So I jumped on a plane that morning.
26:30Get down there.
26:32I, I fly out of Dallas and,, I get an Uber and I show up at his office.
26:39I, 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.
26:46So he sits down for a few minutes and obviously my strong Boston accent is extremely strong when you're in Dallas, Texas.
26:53Yeah.
26:53And he, and he looks around and he sees my bag and you know, probably a little dish jumping off the plane.
26:58He goes, did you just, so I'm here from Boston right now for coffee.
27:04Like you just got up, you just got here from Boston right now.
27:07Yeah, it's like it's only a three hour flight.
27:09, he goes, that's coffee.
27:14I should do I tell you what, I gotta pick my kids up at soccer.
27:18How about I need, we stay da da da, I'm gonna bring my kids to soccer.
27:22Let's go out to a really great dinner.
27:24I'm gonna, let's have dinner together.
27:26Yeah, like great.
27:27So we went to dinner, we had a great dinner.
27:29And we had great conversations and it was many years ago and I'm still friends with Mitch.
27:33I can actually send him a text right now.
27:35He'll get back to me.
27:36And,, and we've had a lot of great conversations again.
27:39I, I've not, I've done, I'm a photographer.
27:41I did a lot of business in photography with Santa Claus, but I never asked him for business or, or vice versa.
27:47We 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.
28:01I love it.
28:02And, 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.
28:16I just don't want anything from you, you know, that just genuinely ii, I just love what you do so much.
28:23I think it's more, you know, I started as many years ago.
28:25I kind of grew into it as I just do it and call people.
28:28But,, 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.
28:41So it's, it's, it's so obvious that people just stop and say what, like no.
28:48And,, 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?
29:07I was waiting for you to ask.
29:08Yeah.
29:10Do you remember myspace?
29:12Oh, yeah.
29:13Is it myspace Tom myspace?
29:15Tom?
29:16I follow him on Instagram.
29:18He has an Instagram.
29:19Yeah.
29:19And so so we haven't had this conversation yet.
29:23So you follow him on Instagram?
29:26What does Tom Anderson do for a living?
29:29I have no idea.
29:30I think he posts like travel photos every once in a while.
29:32I have no idea what he does.
29:34He's a professional photographer.
29:36Oh, really?
29:38Oh, cool.
29:38I didn't know that.
29:40So he, he is that he was a founder of myspace and by the time I was actually working at myspace during that whole time.
29:47Ok.
29:48And but you were working at myspace?
29:51Yeah.
29:51Doing what a photographer.
29:54Ok.
29:55So I was working with, actually I was working at Fox News Corp.
29:59OK.
29:59And then Fox News Corp purchased myspace myspace.
30:02OK.
30:03So I kind of got blended in there doing some work.
30:05So 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.
30:20But what happened was so you have this individual myspace was the biggest company sold $248 million.
30:29Wow.
30:30Ok.
30:30By the way, Tom has said this publicly, but he dropped out of school at sixth grade, sixth grade, sixth grade.
30:38Wow.
30:40He 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.
30:52Wow, that's really cool.
30:54And he did, he found myspace or was he just kind of the face of myspace?
30:58No, 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.
31:11And,, it was actually bought it for another project they were doing and,, they bought it for a few bucks.
31:16And,, yeah, and then Fox News Corp purchases them for $248 million.
31:23And 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.
31:32Obviously 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.
31:44That's amazing.
31:45So he actually just used that to follow his lifelong dream that he had since sixth grade.
31:51That's beautiful.
31:53Yeah.
31:53To be photograph, I love it.
31:56Good for him.
31:56Well, I hope someone out here listening can help connect Scott and Tom.
32:01Yeah, III I definitely wanna, I'm writing a book called keep thinking outside the box.
32:06Keep thinking outside the box and an individual that obviously he was thinking outside the box, right?
32:12And 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.
32:28So it was a really pinnacle point and change of time in history.
32:33And then he would actually end up being a photographer.
32:38I love it.
32:38That's really cool.
32:39Well, I hope you, I hope you get that connection.
32:41I'm sure you will, you have a way of making things happen.
32:45OK.
32:45So you kind of glazed over it earlier, but I wanna circle back.
32:49So, 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.
33:01So, tell us a little bit more about that.
33:04Yeah.
33:04So,, when I first started doing a lot of photography, I would do school, school photographs, school pictures.
33:11And,, 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.
33:21And so I end up going to Lawrence Bass where I grew up in a town, inner city school, inner city city.
33:28And 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?
33:41And 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.
34:01They 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.
34:18So 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.
34:23Right.
34:23It's always about price.
34:24Right.
34:24So, I mean, I was low, it was $10 and everybody else was 40 $50 and I, I still couldn't land the jobs.
34:32Like, why can't I get these jobs?
34:34You know, I like, you know, I think I have it in my schedule.
34:36I just came back from traveling with National Geo or, you know, you know, Sports Illustrated.
34:41I 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.
34:47Now.
34:47That 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.
35:05And 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.
35:13I bet I cracked them up.
35:15Like, what, what are you, what are you talking about?
35:17I'm like, I cannot get my local little League and I still didn't, I never got it.
35:21I didn't get it.
35:22I never got it.
35:23Never got it.
35:24Yeah.
35:24No.
35:25Well, there's still time.
35:27Yeah.
35:28Yes, ma'am.
35:29But, yeah, I mean, again it goes back to competition and, and,, yeah, everybody's chasing the same, they're chasing the same thing.
35:41Do 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?
35:50You think it's like a self worth kind of thing?
35:52Oh, 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.
36:02Yeah.
36:02Like your brain talks you out of it.
36:04You don't even go there.
36:05Most people don't even go there.
36:06.
36:08Right.
36:08Because 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.
36:17Right.
36:18, I tell people that all the time.
36:21It's a story.
36:22So you tell yourself.
36:24Yeah.
36:24And most of the stories are just complete BS, right?
36:27Belief system.
36:29Yeah.
36:29Right.
36:29You know, you, you know, you're healthy, deserve level.
36:32Right.
36:34So, what would you say to people who are afraid to leave their comfort zone?
36:41Who are, who want to do these things that you do?
36:44But have that, that fear factor stopping them.
36:47What's your advice?
36:50Yeah.
36:50So it's,, you know, it's, it's a good question because, you know what, what really is the fear?
36:59Is it?
36:59Because they have three kids and they, you know, and it's a big change and they're there for the family and their kids.
37:08You 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.
37:18Right.
37:19It's not, we, we get it.
37:21II, I was talking to somebody earlier.
37:22We get, it's analysis by paralysis.
37:25Hm.
37:26We 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.
37:32Just stop doing call.
37:34Don't, don't leave your full time job.
37:36Don't, don't put your house on the market to buy all this gear.
37:39It's not about the gear.
37:41It, it's, it really just starts with one phone call and one job.
37:46Yeah.
37:46And don't go, that's, it.
37:47Don't think about anything else.
37:51I love that.
37:51Never underestimate the power of a small step.
37:54Right.
37:54Yeah.
37:55Tiny, tiny habits.
37:56And you really do miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
38:00It's all up to you.
38:01I, a mentor told me a long time ago, say yes until you have a really good reason to say no.
38:07And 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.
38:20You don't know what you don't know.
38:22Ok.
38:23And going into this, I didn't know what I didn't know.
38:26And 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.
38:49Hm, you know, from sales to buying stuff, to listen to things and seeing people on the internet and social media and tiktok, you know.
38:57Well, I saw on TikTok must be true.
39:00No.
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.
39:25I mean, that's the person you want to talk to somebody that's been there.
39:30That's such a beautiful advice.
39:32And 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?
39:41Who are driven because those are the kids that come from, you know what?
39:45I, I wasn't a book reader growing up.
39:48And I was probably about the last person in high school that would ever think that I would write a few books.
39:53The last person.
39:54, seriously.
39:57But what I, you know, I didn't, I didn't, I never did my homework.
40:00I never read a book.
40:01I grown up.
40:02I 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.
40:07But what I really found was you can find out any most CEOs and big companies out there have a book up.
40:15Yeah.
40:16You know, they either did it for mocking reasons or they had a, you know, somebody wrote it for him.
40:19It doesn't matter.
40:19Right.
40:20It's their story.
40:21And 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.
40:37It's amazing.
40:38Absolutely.
40:39Truly amazing.
40:40The information that's out there.
40:41I love that advice.
40:43And 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.
40:50Yeah, of course you do.
40:51Yeah.
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.
41:04And a couple 100 pages like, why wouldn't you take that?
41:07It's just like their best free advice.
41:10So, yeah, I agree.
41:12As a book, nerd, I totally agree.
41:13And I'm actually reading one of Alex's books right now.
41:15So awesome.
41:17I, I met so many people.
41:18I 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.
41:36And 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.
41:53One of my, you know, one of my really good friends, Doctor Benjamin Hardy.
41:56Ben 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.
42:12Yeah, especially when you're on that journey with them and then you get to celebrate all their wins with them.
42:17Yeah.
42:18Yeah.
42:18It's pretty cool.
42:19It's very cool.
42:20Yeah.
42:21Coaching.
42:21Yeah.
42:22Ok.
42:22Advice for listeners, read books, join a coaching program.
42:27Get a mentor that's already done it.
42:29Right.
42:29These are just golden nuggets.
42:32Yeah.
42:32Oh, yeah.
42:33Yeah.
42:34Matter 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.
42:39It's been thinking about him a lot.
42:41Just sent me a text.
42:42I'm like, oh, did he know of something?
42:44So, yeah, I mean, you know, I had one growing up for many years and it's been a good friend of mine.
42:48And if it wasn't for people like that, I don't really think small business would be danced so much.
42:54It's amazing how many CEO's were.
42:56I actually just called and I'm writing another book called Keep Thinking outside the box.
43:01reach out to $100 million CEO running the business.
43:05And people told me I was crazy like you, he's not gonna help you.
43:08What is he gonna help you for?
43:09And I called him and got him on a call, fast friends.
43:12We have a one hour call every month and he's helped me on some inside information how to, you know about the book.
43:19And 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.
43:25So I'm looking to launch that in 2024.
43:28It's been, it's, it's fun in the middle of it all.
43:30Right now.
43:30But that's awesome.
43:33I can't wait to read it.
43:34What's your book called?
43:35That's out right now, by the way.
43:37Yeah.
43:37So,, it's called Camera Focus.
43:39Camera Focus Focus.
43:41, and it's got all your amazing stories.
43:44It's, it's, you know, I really try not to.
43:46It's not about me.
43:48It's not, it's, you know, I, you know, great storytelling is about,, the guy that tells the story.
43:56Hm.
43:57Right.
43:58, You know, there's usually a villain and a hero, right?
44:02Usually a villain and has a good story.
44:04But I'm just a guy telling the story.
44:05I'm a guy telling the story and that's how I like to do it.
44:08Yeah, 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.
44:20It's that story is not about me.
44:23Yeah, and I, I'm making a point of somebody that people can relate to.
44:28I 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.
44:41I mean, I'm really, you know, I was very blessed to really have these great conversations with these amazing people.
44:47and 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.
45:01Yeah.
45:02And if it's memorable, then they'll remember it.
45:05And if they can have a takeaway from that story, great, especially from beloved people like Robin Williams, I'm sure.
45:13Yeah, 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.
45:28Yeah.
45:28Well, I can't read, wait to read the book.
45:30I'm gonna have to buy a copy.
45:31, so Scott, I loved having you on.
45:35Thank you so much.
45:36Can 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?
45:41How did they get in touch with you?
45:43Yeah, anytime you're in the Boston area, I'll buy coffee.
45:46, reach out to me.
45:47, but it's very simple.
45:49It's my first name and last name.
45:50It's Scott Proposki
45:51Whoops.
45:51Hold on the cameras went out, we went to commercial break.
45:55I just set this new set up in the studio here, so I'm trying to figure it out.
45:58, you're good.
45:59Don't worry about it, Scottproposki.com to keep it really simple.
46:03Scottproposki.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.
46:14Maybe there was somebody that I could have a conversation about but by the way, camera focus is not really about photography.
46:22Hm.
46:24So camera focus is all about ADHD interesting and how, how to focus and somebody that has ADHD that can, that can find their superpowers.
46:41And for me, it was the camera sky is the limit.
46:46So for me, it was the camera, I could focus on the camera.
46:49Nothing else mattered and I could be hyper focused about the camera and I can really focus on what I was doing.
46:57So if we could find something that you can get hyper focus on.
47:01Yeah, ADHD.
47:02You do.
47:02You don't, the, the point of matter is if you're so into it, a a point of no return, right?
47:13This is what you wanna do and you could be hyper focused on it.
47:15You use, use your ADHD as a superpower.
47:19That's an excuse.
47:22So how do you write a book, Scott?
47:23You have ADHD.
47:24How can you focus?
47:25Because I love the stories I'm telling.
47:28It's easy to do.
47:33I 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.
47:44Can actually be our greatest assets, right?
47:47Can be the the biggest thing we have going for us.
47:50It's just that shift of perspective.
47:53Yeah, and find, find what you love and getting that flow state in the present moment.
47:57I love it.
47:59Any last, any last thoughts for anyone or find your superpower, find your superpower.
48:08Everybody has it.
48:10Yeah.
48:11Well, Scott, I really loved having you on.
48:13Thank you so much.
48:14I I was really excited for this conversation and it exceeded my expectations.
48:21So thank you for everyone.
48:24Yeah, thank you.
48:24I appreciate it.
48:25Thank you.
48:25Yeah, thank you.
48:27for everyone else.
48:28Please like subscribe, follow share so we can keep spreading the good word.
48:33Keep inspiring people.
48:34Follow me.
48:35I'm at Change Your Mind with Kris on Instagram, tiktok, youtube, of course, Facebook podcast.
48:42I'm everywhere and check out my book, change your mind to change your reality.
48:47And thank you all so much.
48:48I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.
48:50See you next time.