Episode 64 - The Blueprint Of The Digital Era

Nicky Saunders  
what’s poppin whats poppin whats poppin. Welcome to Nicky and moose. I'm Nicky that's moose what’s up moose?

Mostafa Ghonim  
What up y'all?

Nicky Saunders  
And welcome to episode 64 blueprint of the digital era Yes, we got a blueprint talk today. You know what I mean? So, we're going to be talking about Meg the stallion and being the first rapper having a Netflix deal. Michael Jordan, getting into the web three, NFT vibes Khalid and some they don't want you to win talk, and some B Simone authenticity, talking about influencers talking about the social media game, talking about web three moose. How are we feeling?

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, yeah, no, this is this is taking it to people who've been in the game for a minute right? like I don't think anyone you any of those names you mentioned have been here for at least five years. You got somebody like Khalid who's been there for 20. So blueprint is the right title for this one.

Nicky Saunders  
Alright, let's get into his intro.

Jaymie Jordan  
Two kids from Queens. Cut from a different cloth. Now joining forces helping you to elevate your personal brand. Yeah, I'm talking about Nicky and moose, bringing you a never before seen perspective into the mindset, the mentality, the behaviors, the driving force, more importantly, stories behind the people and brands that you know and love the most.

Nicky Saunders  
And you really know what time it is its the review of the week. And I'm bringing back a goodie because I was reading this I was like man, I really like this one right says Great. Listen, I absolutely love this podcast. I enjoy listening to podcasts that talk about branding and Nicky and moose definitely deliver. I love the breakdowns of different brands such as Jay Z, Kobe, the Kardashians, etc. This podcast inspires me to keep growing as an entrepreneur and allows me to learn new things. oldie but goodie, you know what I mean oldie but goodie, shout out to everybody who leaves us a review on Apple podcast, podcast chasers and I think Spotify is going to allow you to put some stars soon. I saw it in the coming like coming features. So my Spotify listeners hit those stars when that is available. You know what I mean we need. We need those. We need those. So and of course, shout out to all our audio listeners. All our viewers, whether you're watching it on YouTube, social media, whatever new platform because speaking other ones in the to existence. We love you, we appreciate it. And moose How are we feeling?

Mostafa Ghonim  
Man pretty good. Pretty good. Fresh off of a team gathering. So I'm I was excited about that. I got to spend time with you and the squad in Houston earlier in the week. And yeah, things are good, man. I'm pretty excited. Very busy nonetheless. Although it's the holidays. And typically that's when things slow down. But it's different this year for us. I like it. So it's pretty busy.

Nicky Saunders  
It is it is now what Okay, so what do you normally do around the holidays? Compared to now? 

Mostafa Ghonim  
Well, I don't I don't typically celebrate Christmas, right? I don't I don't celebrate Christmas. Usually our celebration is more around New Years. However, it's you know, it's a little bit more of a slower pace. A little bit more movie watching kind of laid back, just relax. And spend some time with the fam. And again, my family is pretty small. But that's what it typically consists of around this time of the year. But moving into it this season. On my own we running and gunning. we got flights and trips and meetings and projects and everything like it's going to be just a typical week. Okay, be respectful of people's Christmas Eve and Christmas and the weekend. And then back at it Monday, that kind of thing. So yeah, there's a little it's a little different than you know what we've been accustomed to the last few years.

Nicky Saunders  
Now I do have question. Even though you don't celebrate Christmas, right? Is there something you do? That takes advantage of the Christmas season? Do you still do you still receive gifts even though you don't like

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, sure. Well, for that part of it. I am indulgent in the Christmas spirit, no like

Nicky Saunders  
Do you go to 4th Ave and like look get, you know, that kind of thing like, go to Rockefeller go see the the windows and how they're all like do you do those things?

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, no, we did it last year. And I must say I've always said, New York City is the best place to be around the Christmas season. I've just been biased in saying that you can always feel the spirit, you know, the Christmas spirit of the holiday spirit when you're in town around this time of the year. So for sure I utilize that energy to my advantage. Like, okay, let me let me go and check some of this stuff out. But yeah, it's a beautiful place to be especially this time of the year.

Nicky Saunders  
facts, facts, facts, I would I still am proud to say that I saw the tree before it was lit. And after. You know what I mean? that that tree is like a tradition, super tradition. Every single year, I got to now I realize that I have to see the tree in the beginning of December, and not necessarily at the end. Because for some reason, it gets super, super crowded. Like what was it? I think last year, or the year before that. I can't remember. I'm literally like, crushed, walking, like, like little by little. Just to get out of Rockefeller. It was just so weird. So yeah, if y'all haven't seen the tree, if you haven't gone to New York and see the rock felled tree and kind of walk around thinking 5th Ave,  you need to go do that. Need to do that? Yeah. These are facts. Yeah, these are facts. random, random shout out, hold on, because, and they didn't ask me to do this. But this black is wealth, hoodie and sweats. Like, the most common

Mostafa Ghonim  
I like that color. That's a fire color,

Nicky Saunders  
right? That is the most comfortable sweatsuit I've ever been in. And clearly you have seen me in a few. This one I could, I could say, is fire and they didn't ask me to do that. But I put it on today. Like, I feel I feel wealthy, feel rich. Rich, I feel wealthy. So shout out to black is wealth. They were like yo, I love. I love the information you give let me And then I saw the cream. I was like, Yo, let me get that say less. I got that. So definitely go. Go check them out, wherever they are. Like they're on Instagram. But yeah, go do that. Anyways, let's get into this episode. So I promise you this needs to be like, there's a few people that continue to jump on this podcast. Meg the stallion happens to be one of them. And that's not a bad thing. She's literally killing the game. Not only does she when was the last time we highlighted her. She? Well, one of the times, not last time, I'll say one of the times. She was getting her college degree recently. I think it was like December 11 She finally graduated Tsu. Right. But this thing is saying she ynx a production deal with Netflix. That right there, first rapper to get this type of deal. To let alone to be a female rapper. Um, I don't I don't know how you can stop Meg I really, I really don't know. This is going to include creating an executive producing content such as, you know, TV series and and more on Netflix doesn't say how long the deal is. But we do have a, like a quote of something that she said I've always had a passion for telling creative and entertaining stories. So I'm thrilled about this partnership with Netflix megan said in the statement, venturing into production is the next step in in my journey as an entrepreneur and I can't wait to bring all my ideas to life and for all my hotties to watch. Um, man, I don't I don't know if you can stop this lady. I don't know if it is the team she has now I will say she's on a cheating team. She's managed by rock nation. And if we can, which we didn't cover here because I feel like we covered Jay Z a little bit too much. But Jay Z just came out with like, a I don't know if he produced it or whatever, but came out with a Netflix movie himself that he's been kind of on the road promoting as well. And so it makes sense. Alright, if Jay Z is doing it, let's get some of the Let's get the number one artists out there to kind of do the same who's been out doing Nike deals out here doing Popeye's deals? Just doesn't it doesn't make sense how, how much she's doing. And I don't know if she stopping anytime soon, what do you think?

For sure, yeah, I'm amazed that how she's defying the odds despite of her age, like 25-26 years old. And she's just tacking on accolade after accolade with no, and seems to be handling them very well. I mean, yeah, there was that one issue with her. And what's the what's the other rappers name? I forget. Yes. Just like that was maybe the only small hiccup. You know.

That’s going on Now, you know that right? Oh, still? Wow. So. So here's the thing. I think this is perfect timing with the production day. I'm glad you said that, um, because they're on trial right now. And then to still make her seem in a positive light, because there's been, you know, speculation of what really transpired now. Okay, here's this Netflix deal. So the trial is going, but you're now looking at meg once again, in a positive light, regardless of what the media is saying. Because of this production deal, and not even deals my my apologies partnership. let's not, let's not there's two difference. Right That's, that's, that's, that's the ownership vibe partnership is a different vibe. So I think with with what's happening, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's more stuff that happens during this, this whole trial to make sure that her name and images still look in a positive light. So yeah, I don't think this is coincidence.

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, no, that's awesome. And also, you mentioned this concept of being in a producer role, rqight?  the fact that she's going to have the opportunity to narrate stories controlling the narrative and what's being said, that's also another thing that is super dope. And we got to highlight when you talk about multiple minority labels, female, minority background, and young, it's like, that's super dope to see happening. So now I'm just really excited for what she's accomplishing. And I think it's only just the beginning because again, given her age, 26 years old, it's it's gonna be it's gonna be fun to watch.

Nicky Saunders  
Crazy, crazy. Meg. Keep doing your thing. We're gonna keep covering it. Because, yeah, this, what you're doing is amazing. But, uh, let's talk about something I'm really excited about. I'm super excited about So, y'all know, we have been talking about the metaverse and NFT's. And if you happen to be looking on YouTube, you may think that I like a lot of Jordans and I may, you know. Shout out to all our listeners who are sneaker heads or recovering sneaker heads. Because I want to say that I am a recovering one because I don't necessarily buy as much. But that's a different story for a different time, right. But it seems as if Jordan is getting into the web three and NFT world himself. So Michael Jordan and his son Jeffrey Jordan, launch hair Inc, an entertainment and tech venture geared around athlete startup plans. NFT platforms for athletes, raises 100 Whoo. 10 point 6 million round, led by Thrive capital. Now, this is huge. Okay. So for those who are like, what does that mean? What does that mean? So this is a community platform for athletes. So they're going to be selling limited seats to memberships and then whoever has those gets access to digital assets. And we're seeing a lot of things like Nike just acquired like a digital sneaker. Like one of those I forgot was like RFKT's. Pardon me I look it up once moose starts talking, but digital assets are starting to be a really big thing. And then of course, limited NFT's once you get these particular memberships. I think this is great, because it shows that no matter what industry you're in You got to pay attention to web three, you got to pay attention to how do we take these particular physical products? And how do we make it and the brand itself kind of relevant in where the world is going next. And we keep hearing about web three, we keep hearing about Metaverse and NFT's. And to get the top brands to be like, Alright, I'm creating my own platform, I'm not going to, And that's another thing. I'm not going to piggyback off of other people's platforms, I'm going to create my own. We're gonna call it hair ink. Right. I think that's dope. I think it's great.

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And it's, it's cool on many different levels, right? For one, we're see the introduction of Michael Jordan's son, in this in this image, right, which is like really a legacy move, in a sense, because you're utilizing the talent of the younger generation, who likely have the insight, the interest, and possibly even some relationships, and then just really leveraging the brand, of course, a historical brand and an icon in Michael Jordan, and in convincing athletes to say, hey, come with us, right? Which is always something that when you think about competition, or shout out to CJ, who always talks about USP, or unique selling propositions, when you think about what's going to make you as an athlete, thinking of your future and your business and your money, not want to go with the obvious competitors, you talked about rock nation, and Jay and his agency, LeBron, you know, rich, Paul, and you know what those guys are doing over there, it's like, what's going to what's going to be one of those compelling things to make you say, alright, I'm not gonna go down the obvious pathway, I'm gonna go somewhere else, and possibly get an opportunity to, to add some longevity to my career, it's going to be Michael Jordan, that's a name that is obviously one of those names that will make you stop in your tracks and make you reconsider. You know what your move is. So I think it's a great deal just for people who are thinking about how they're positioning and partnerships and business deals. That's a great move. And then they also have a very talented team. I mean, you got a marketing exec on that team. And then the other gentleman there, too, is used to work with Steph Curry and help launched his media company. Yeah. So it's cool to see the talent across the board. Yeah, Jeffrey, Jeffrey Jordan is going to kind of lead out as that main name. But there are some other talented people on that panel as well, which is really cool.

Nicky Saunders  
Yeah. And, and this particular platform, which I I like is going to be built off the crypto coin Solano. So giving for those people were like, What does that even mean? Majority of these NFT's that we've seen that are super popular on the Ethereum coin. And so I do like that influence influencers and influencing brands, I said that wrong, but you know, what I mean, um, are finding different platforms, building their own platforms, and utilizing different coins, to even though solono was making some waves already. Having true competition in this, you know, crypto world, I think, is really interesting. Another person who's coming out with an NFT that I showed you on the 20th. So maybe by the time you hear this, you missed it, Steph Curry, and he just did something huge and the best shooter ever, pretty much. Um, and he's doing a 2974 collection that pretty much highlights how many three He’s made. So I was looking into that and it is a whole it's not how do I put this? Normally with crypto, you need to get a crypto wallet. He's now once again introducing a different way to obtain this NFT is a whole new platform. So I like how those people who are creating access tokens and platforms and different wallets are getting the athletes and high influencers to be like look, this is great. You already know this is happening. You're going to do amazing things. Put put a charity on top of it too, because he, I think he's giving this to charity. Right? Um, and make a bag. But this is the wave. So every single time you break a record or do something huge and don't think about it from just an athlete standpoint, it could just be any type of milestone that people really celebrate. That could turn into an NFT and people are going to want to be a part of it. We, I don't know if we covered it. But even things like the thanksgiving parade, the New York thanksgiving parade, Macy's, one that turned into an NFT any major events, any major accomplishments can be turned into digital memorabilia. Just think of it like that digital memorabilia that people are going to want to have ownership of. I think that's, that's super dope. And it's like, making me think for 2022. Like, what are some major, like, major events that we could capitalize on? I love what Toby did with his tour, and dropping coins for each location, you know, and, and having songs that that are paired with it. You know, I think it's just brilliant. And if you're not really educated on the metaverse, and this whole web three situation, keep tuning in. stay locked in, we're gonna give, I tell you that it seems like almost every, almost every podcast that can't even talk almost every podcast, we're talking about it. And

Mostafa Ghonim  
some new coming out is just what it is. Let me ask you this, do you think that utilizing, utilizing the opportunity to give some of these things or donate to charity as a way that athletes and big name influencers are trying to get more people to get introduced to the metaverse and the NFT world or maybe even lower their fear factor? Because it's like, if you think about it, if it's strictly an investment, you're likely to still be a little bit more hesitant until unless you're a natural risk taker. Yeah, but does using the label 100% of proceeds go to charity automatically make you more susceptible to say, cool, let me try it out.

Nicky Saunders  
Um, I think the charity move is more to get people to feel like it's not just say, Make Money scheme. So we've mentioned that Gary Vee has dropped a collection earlier this year, he made $92 million. Now, some people don't want to make or more rich people richer. Yeah. So they could possibly pay certain amounts to local artists and people who are on the come up, but athletes and celebrities and things like that. We know we look at it if there's no real, true utility, and any money going back to charity that this is probably just another way for you to get money. And you're already rich. And so some people are hesitant. That's why they're now attaching charities to it, because it kind of lessons that like oh, I love to donate to charity. I think this you're doing this for good cause it’s not it lowers that. What's the word? skeptism? What's the word?

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, that's a word scope. 

Nicky Saunders  
okay, All right. You know, it is what it is. But yeah. So I think that's what it does as far as the chair, not necessarily to lower the barriers to make you feel comfortable to buy just more of you're not trying to get rich off this. Mm hmm.

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah. Well, I mean, I sent you that tweet that Adidas put out when they dropped their kind of NFT and had some technical issues. Oh, I just, yeah, I just appreciated what they did, because they wanted to show that they're going to do right by the community. I think the big thing, and for those of you who are, again, getting introduced to this and learning more about it, we have to recognize that a big reason why it's gaining traction is because it is a very community based initiative, meaning it's based around community. It's based around making sure that the artists continue to get compensated for their work over the long haul, especially when it increases in value. So seeing brands take a stance to show that out the gate, I think that's one of those things that we're going to look on 2030 4050 years from now and say, oh, you know what, yeah, no day from day one, have been real, and have stayed true to the community, versus a brand or a company who was in it strictly for the money. And that too, was obvious. So I just appreciated what they did. And yeah, like I said, that tweet was was dope to see.

Nicky Saunders  
Yep. So stay tuned. For more web three and metaverse talk. Ah, let's get into let's get into some social media, some digital business kind of vibes. And once again, shout out to earn your leisure. They have been killing it this year. I love what moose says about this. This is just their time. And the interviews they come out with is just amazing. It's just amazing. And the recent one they came out with is DJ khalid, And he said something. And I like bringing back the simple stuff, because we kind of pass the simple stuff and think that we need a complicated system. But how Khaled rised up and got so many deals and became the figure he is not downplaying his music or anything, but clearly his influence and , how we see him and even his sayings, is because of social media, and is because he showed up on a consistent basis, and was very authentic. So we got a clip from that Earn your leisure podcast, as far as what he advice to other businesses and influencers, on how to deal with social media,

DJ Khaled  
we suppose to use our social media, because it's really a free commercial for your business. If you have a restaurant, and the food is good, people are going to come back. And if you promote it on your Instagram, and the word get out that that that food is good. It's only gonna build if you put out greatness, you gone get greatness back. And sometimes it don't happen overnight. It didn't happen overnight for me, Quincy Jones didn’t make thriller till he was 50 years old. He made thriller when he was 50. Me when I turned 40. That was when my biggest success happened. I worked free 90% of my life 

Mostafa Ghonim  
Wow Yeah no, that's. There's so many there's so many kind of principles and gems tied up in that, of course, just to start with the easiest one where he closed off the fact that, you know, he says I worked free 90% of my life. And I listened to that interview and I was kind of like texting you about it quite a bit because I took a lot away from it. Right? And and when he says that, I think people underestimate how much he was investing back into himself, because to add some context to what he was saying there. It's like he was making money. But he was using a lot of that money to continue to market himself. Yeah. So it was kind of just a reminder, like, you know, for some of us, again, naturally introverted, who might not feel as comfortable putting their name out there or telling people about what they do. He's telling you probably the easiest function of social media today, which is to let people know about your greatness in your business, not saying overstep, and overdo it and go crazy with it. But that is what social media is today. And I've spoken with some people who are a little upset. It's like nah, but you don't understand when Instagram first came out, it was just about sharing pictures and cool moments, and it's not what it used to be. But again, that that's that's where we have to challenge ourselves to really upgrade our mentality. Do we want to live in the dinosaur age? It's like saying, Oh, I don't I don't want to drive a car because when I was around, we were using horses. It's like, okay, but you know, it's a different time. It's a different era. You got to upgrade your mentality. So I think this is this is a good reminder, especially for those who take tend to fight off social media a little bit to just see like, this is what the platforms are used as today, right is to spread hope and positivity and inspiration, share your business and all these different things. So I like to do, he's just kind of sharing that, like, you know, that's what it is today. And that's how we should be using it.

Nicky Saunders  
Yeah. My takeaways on it is kind of two parts, right? So from the first one, it's really, like I said, going back to the basics, if your stuff is good, is going to work. You just got to put it out there. So I like how he used in the interview, kind of an example of a restaurant, if your food is good, and you put it out on social media, people are going to come like, you get testimonials, you show the food, we can assume you're there, we cant assume that the food is good. If you don't put anything out, like we wouldn't have known of a Khaled. If he never jumped on Snapchat, and be his true, true authentic self, we wouldn't have known half of these influencers. Half of these brands, if they didn't put it out on social media, and blow up the way they did. Now, with Khaled, we know he was DJ, he was a radio host, He was putting out albums before Snapchat before social media, we know this. But we connected with him more when he showed himself. And he kept showing what he was doing. He showed the albums The the process of making them, he showed his lifestyle, he showed things that he wanted to. So you got to know him and connect with him. He didn't rely on record labels, he didn't rely on anything else to do it for him. He said, this is pretty much a free commercial. I'm going to speak every single day about what I'm doing. Regardless if I'm in the studio or not. Regardless, if I'm with my rich friends or not. Yes their rich, they're all rich, I'm whatever it is, I'm going to put it out there because if it's good, and I connect with people, they're going to keep watching and they're going to buy or stream or come to my events in is just as being simple as I'm gonna just show up and be me. Now. The second part that I really enjoyed was him putting that is not an overnight situation. And I worked 90% of my life for free. Now there's there's a few ways I'm looking at this. But if we think about old school ways of giving out our products and services for free to people just to get a buzz going. I think social media is the new way of working for free. You're giving out information every single day that maybe before or at a certain point of your brand people will have to pay for right. This is this is going to be what Khaled’s 90% was social media is going to be your 90%. Where every single day, you're making sure you give something for free to your audience. Why? Because the serving mentality of giving out what you love giving out what you're a master of is going to build connection and allow people to truly see what it is besides putting the credit card in first and experiencing it then and possibly having a bad experience. Right? We've covered it with you know, with ET, right where there's other people who will say a little bit and say, Alright, go buy this for $19.99 Right. And E would just go on YouTube and give it all away and in which it built the community that he has Khaled has taken that same model, and gave it all away as far as what it really takes to be in this culture, what it really takes to be in this industry. And he gave it all away, played music before it should have been, you know, heard, gave it all away. And now he's seen the the rewards from it. Now he's getting brand deals now. He's getting other platforms to call him and be like, Hey, can you be the brand ambassador? Can you be a partner? Can you be a co founder of these things in in the interview, and moose wanted me to clip this part out, too. But I’m the interview he talked about the early days of Snapchat, and if this is this is the downfall about social media, because we don't, you know, own these platforms. But we give ourselves to these platforms, we have success. We're keeping users on their platforms, or bringing users to their platforms. And when he went to the head of Snapchat, like, hey, what we doing, they never worked with Khaled. They never worked with Khaled Now, Some would be like, That's wild. But at the end of the day, Khalad still understood how to leverage social media. So you may not want to work with me. That's cool. Almond milk wants to work with me. I'm having a partnership with Dolce and Gabbana. I'm now coming out with a ghost kitchens of another wing. Right? All because of what I did on your particular platform. I leverage free. So the lesson with all of this, from from my end is Do you understand how to leverage free? Do you understand that social media is not just a task, but it is a tool to get your business, get your brand? Get yourself out there for free in order for your real opportunities to come in?

Mostafa Ghonim  
Well, that's a bar. That's a bar.

Nicky Saunders  
Just saying.

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah that’s good. Social media is not a task. It is a tool. That's a bar. That's a bar. I love that. I love that.

Nicky Saunders  
But moose from like, the, like I said that interview was was fire and there was other bars from it. But what was your biggest and what I'm what I love about our podcast is that we literally promote other people's podcasts and content, we really do. But we, we do that. Because we really, actually love the content ourselves. Right? Um, so what was another? I sent myself my snapchat bar. But what was another thing that you got from the interview?

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, towards the very end, man, he said something so powerful, because I think everyone, especially of our era, in our generation has become big on this concept of ownership. So I think that the guys were asking him about, you know, owning his masters and things like that, and, and how they were inspired by Nipsey to kind of follow through on that same concept. And his response to that was, yeah, by all means, own your masters. But make sure that your masters are worth something. And I was like, that's powerful, because that's true. You can 100% own everything that you have, but dismiss opportunities to collaborate and partner with someone, maybe even give a little bit of equity or share equity, but add more value. So it's that same concept of 100% of zero is zero. But 10% of a million is still a little bit more than that. So it's it really just, it's refreshing to be like, okay, yep, ownership is still the goal, but value is just as important as ownership.

Nicky Saunders  
Yeah. And I love that you brought this up because and then I don't want the audience to get caught up in masters in music talk. Think of it as your brand. Like, you own your brand, you own different aspects of your brand. And if you're not really putting in the work, it may not be worth it. anything. So for you to say, Yo, I own my brand. And you didn't take the opportunity to partner to scale it opportunities to collaborate with certain people to bring extra value to it. Oh, because relationships bring value as well, oh, you know, this person, they wear this, they've rocked this. Okay, that actually brings value to it, you know? If you're not adding value to your brand, and it's not just on a money standpoint, you can't sell it. You can't you hear these, these deals where certain businesses are sold for millions of dollars. And you're like, Okay, I could create something like that. Well, can you? What have you done to create that value for people to even consider paying for your brand? So it's the same concept of, of masters of you can own something, but is it really worth anything? 

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, Yeah that's a big part. That's a big part. And I think a lot of us, you know, we catch on to something. It's, it's what we've talked about, like titles that become super attractive. It's like when entrepreneurship was on the rise, everyone was fighting to be an entrepreneur. But what if you were making money at a nine to five or we started disrespecting nine to five because entrepreneurship was deemed as more popular. And it's, it's, it's it's this type of perspective that allows us to kind of wait things in more of a balanced purview and say, okay, hold up. Okay, I understand that that's the goal. But this is an important ingredient to tie to the goal, or I can accomplish it and it not be worth anything. So yeah, no, I love that that part of it as well.

Nicky Saunders  
Yeah. Shout out to Khaled. Earn your leisure guys. Yeah, y’all killed that interview. But I'm going still into the social media influencer. Kind of transparencies. That is because we know Khaled became huge, because of his authenticity and transparency. There was a really good interview with B Simone And David Chan's shout out to David, about maybe what you're doing wrong, and why you're not successful on social media, and building your brand. So let's get into that.

B Simone   
Be yourself, The problem isn't, I'm not getting sales, nobody's looking at me. The problem is, you're not original. The problem isn't, oh, nobody's on my page. The problem is, you're not being yourself. You know, the problem isn't man, nobody's buying my product. My followers aren’t growing the problem is consistency. The problem is discipline, the problem is self control. Like, let's get to the root of the issue. You're not consistent. Let's get to the root of the issue. You're not even being yourself. You're so focused on this other entrepreneur, he's trying to do everything she doing. Let's get to the root of the problem. The problem isn't your following isn't growing, it’s that you're not even putting out your truth. We don't even know who you are.

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yikes.

Nicky Saunders  
Oh, my goodness. Um, man. Let me let me start this off, because there's one part that, um, first off, she said, she said a lot, right? She just pretty much crapped on majority of people why they're not growing at all, whether it's on a product and service standpoint, whether it's just from a following standpoint, she just pretty much said all the reasons. I will say, the main reason for brand confusion and why people aren't growing, whether it's their following or, you know, their, their brand on social media, is because they don't know who they are. It causes brand confusion, if you don't know who you are, how are we supposed to know who you are? You know, you're doing several things. And I don't know what that is. People don't know what that is. And then when she goes to the part of, I'm looking at this person and that person, and you're starting to copy what they're doing, and we definitely don't feel that you're authentic. But I actually want to put the comparison, the comparison topic to a different thought, because I posted Something on Nicky and moose. When this is being recorded, I posted it on December, December 18. December, I guess it was early in the morning, you know what I mean, it was very early. But it was of a rapper called cordae who I think we covered a little bit here before. But I loved how he said, I don't really try to look at other people. Because from a high standpoint, you can look at other people, and you can be crushing it. And that can cause complacency. So now I'm not doing as much because I'm seeing what other people are doing. And I don't feel like I have to do as much. So there's two sides of comparison. There's, I'm looking at other people, and I'm copying exactly what it is. And it's not taking me to the level that I need to be, or I'm looking at other people, I'm past them. And now I'm actually coasting and will actually go more down in a in a downward spiral. Because I'm letting my foot off the gas because I'm looking at other people, you know, so the the complacency, not the complacency, the comparison. Vibe really needs to stop. Because either direction, it doesn't benefit you either direction. And we've covered it with the Virgil topic, where the whole perfection. And we're, we ended up researching a little bit too much. And we're looking all over the place. And now we're still ending up copying people. Yeah. So that's like already, and it's hard not to, you feel insane. Like, it's hard. When you're jumping on these platforms, when you're getting in and creating, whether you're in the beginning stages, middle stages, or even a little bit of advance, you have to kind of keep a pulse on the industry, right? So it is hard not to look at other people. But at the same time, if you understand the two reasons of how they're both negative, it could kind of reduce it a bit. Now. I will say I love the consistency part. Because further in the interview, she's like, Okay, you're posting, I don't know, once most a month or once a week, I'm posting four times a day. Like, that's not you think that's consistent. No, we're in a I'm, I'm trying to get you to know me. Every single day, every part of the day, you're going to need my brand, every part of the day breakfast, I got you lunch, I got you, you want to snack, I got you, when you're on your phone, you know, dinner or chilling out time, I'm gonna be there to, you know, you have to just like how Khaled said in the last clip, you have to show up. And if it's good, people will come. But if you are showing up whenever you feel like showing up, you're not putting your brand as a priority. You're not putting your legacy to as a priority either. Because we kind of think of social media and we kind of think of content as something more of a task and more of just something we have to do, right. But we have to put a priority into it because it's a bigger, a bigger picture of this is going to last for a month. This is going to last for a year. This is going to last for several years. I've said this a few times. We're still using a Eric Thomas content from five to seven years ago. Right? It's lasting and it will probably last longer than he lives. By you creating a consistent work of of content as I like to say a body of work. You're not leaving doubt to your followers of who you are. You now create a digital legacy. And you're providing whether it's Motivation, dedication, or, or dedication, all in my head, okay, motivation, education. Yo, random. Um, I may be all over the place today, I apologize, motivation, education or entertainment. Your content may be providing that for years to come, which is adding value, and which is going to create share ability to your brand. If you don't put anything out, then how are you expecting the people to know who you are at all? At all?

Mostafa Ghonim  
There's a you know, it's funny, I'm just sitting here and listening. And like, I'm reflecting on so much right on the on one level, the concept of what you shared about E , and using content of his from five to seven years ago. And I'm just like, I think think about that for a minute. The fact that yes, there's consistency. That's that's a key principle that's tied in there. But there's also a key ingredient, which is being true to self for authenticity, in a sense, because you're using content from years ago, but people can still see it or see and still say, Oh, that’s E. Like you're not he's not a different version of himself today. That using anything from the past of his makes people say, No, that's not who he is today. So So here's, here's my takeaway. When you work on you, you grow, but people can't say you changed. You hear what I’m saying like, like, you grow. Yeah, but you're, you're still recognizable to people's meaning that your values, traits, characteristics, integrity are still an order that people can be like, Oh, I know, I recognize Nicky, yeah I recognize Nicky from 10 years ago, because although she's grown, she's more intelligent. She is more creative, she has more relationships, she has more opportunities on every level. But people can't say you changed. So so. So I find that so almost amazing in the sense that we've like, added a new spin to that Jay Z line where he's like, you know, people say, you change, like, I work so hard to stay the same. But it's like, okay, well, what if you changed or you grew, but you're still recognizable To some extent. Sure mentality might be different. But I do think that consistency, in deep, deeply ingrained in that is that concept. The other thing is, my new line, and I'm reading this new book that's helping me really see is the first principle of achievement is discipline. Hmm, break that down? Yeah, yeah, it's like you can't achieve anything. If you're not disciplined. On a clear target, it becomes very difficult to achieve your goals or be looked at as someone who's accomplished and successful or respected as a great or a guru in your industry, if you can't channel your energy and your discipline toward the target that you're trying to attack, finish or complete. So So many times we think that people are successful because of how much they've done. When in reality, people are successful because of how little they've done. But in one particular area, and little by I mean by little in terms of the the number of things they've done. So it's like they've done so much in one area, they didn't do so many different things. So it, it's super important that going into the new year, one of the things that we work on is discipline. Because the cool thing about what this young lady just shared, she didn't say anything that was specific to social media. She said a lot of things, or a lot of almost principles and things related to our own personal development, like things that we can work on away from social media offline, but they will greatly impact how we move and touch people online. Yeah, so yeah, so I just think discipline is one of those things that we got it we got to make attractive again, you know, it's like that self control that discipline that focus. That's something we got to make attractive again, because, again, it's work that's done offline, but it greatly impacts what you do online.

Nicky Saunders  
So this was good. I like that. Everybody do us a favor. Go check us out. On If you're already watching this on YouTube, we love you. For our audio listeners, go check us out on YouTube. Our subscribers are going up, and we appreciate you for doing that. Tweet it. Share the links on your Facebook show that you're, you know, you're watching it on your Instagram Stories, however you want to do that. And of course, Tuesdays we have our live show 8pm Eastern 7pm Central five, I want to say five, five West Coast time, you know what I mean all that great stuff. But moose final words.

Mostafa Ghonim  
Yeah, I said this, I said this jokingly when we were together in Houston, but I was like, No, there's some truth to this. There's some truth to this. And I was saying be the version of you that people make fun of the most right be the version of you that people make fun of the most because at first it is uncomfortable. But you got to understand that it behind people making fun of you there's a level of admiration behind people making fun of you. There's a while you have the audacity to be this, this person to be this you in public. So sometimes we cringe we run away from that because we don't like the feedback. But as you develop again the discipline of being that version. You gone see a lot of growth.