We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Calibe Thompson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Calibe below.
Calibe, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I think resilience is embedded in the DNA of most Caribbean people. For me, it comes out of having been the fattest, darkest kid in an upper class prep school group, being the product of a society where political correctness doesn’t exist, absorbing books and messaging the likes of The Secret, Think and Grow Rich, The Richest Man in Babylon, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, The E-Myth Revisited, Rich Dad, Poor Dad and so on. Based on those lessons learned, I came to the understanding that being enslaved to my emotions can’t pay bills or get things done. I have literally delivered work through tears, while crying and exhausted for hours. I have had people in elevated positions, who I once admired and respected, ridicule me to my face. In those moments, you can prove them right or you can prove them wrong. I choose daily to prove to myself why I am worthy of the invisible crown that I have placed upon my head and that perpetually rests there.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I currently have two main areas of focus. My passion project is the non-profit I co-founded with my business partner. The organization Island SPACE and its related facility, Island SPACE Caribbean Museum, represent most of what I am proud of in life. The museum is the first and only pan-Caribbean heritage museum in the world, and it elevates the profile of the people and stories who come from my home region. Our facility includes an archive of historical artifacts and information, an art gallery and cultural exhibit space, and areas for our activities and community engagement. We are the cultural hub of South Florida’s Caribbean community, even though many in that community don’t yet know that we exist. We support artists, other nonprofits, consulates, authors, speakers, school groups, seniors, performers and other interest groups with a Caribbean connection. This project really is my heart and soul. www.islandspacefl.org | instagram.com/islandspace | facebook.com/islandspacefl
In my regular life, I am also very proud of the business I’m building with my work partner, David I. Muir. Our creative services agency, Island Syndicate, is a media, content creation and branding company that delivers storytelling excellence to discerning governmental, corporate and organizational clients through photography, video and print publishing work. Although we’re actively building out a wider client base, our work product easily competes with companies that are much larger than ours.
We have done photography campaigns for the likes of the Jamaica Tourist Board, Office Depot and Visit Lauderdale. We’ve done large scale publishing projects for multiple South Florida municipalities. And in a past life, I have created and executive produced a nationally syndicated television series.
Our current signature product offering is our custom hardcover keepsake book. We’ve been offering these to municipalities and large organizations celebrating milestone anniversaries in South Florida. We research, curate and present their history in rich language, vibrant images, engaging story sequences and clean layouts.
www.islandsyndicate.com | @islandsyndicate on all platforms
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Persistence, confidence and faith have been most impactful on my journey. Persistence, anyone can work on and develop. I have a touch of OCD, so it comes naturally. But you can make decisions about what is most important to you, then set time aside daily to focus on them until that ongoing work becomes second nature.
If you aren’t naturally confident, you can become more so by being persistent. Get to the point where you feel good about what you do. Where you believe that even though you may not be the best for everyone, you are going to be the best for some. Then it’s just about connecting with those people and blocking out anything and anyone who doesn’t align with that vision of you. Not necessarily removing them from your life, but most definitely removing their negative opinions from the list of things you have time or energy for.
Finally and most importantly, faith. I don’t mean the church kind. I mean the kind that says, “to see it, I know I must first believe it.” I’m a believer in the theory that we must begin with the end in mind. My degree was in architectural studies, and so I want to see an image of the building I’m building before I ever dig a trench or lay a brick. Having that end vision in mind at the start makes it so you have something to hold on to when you’re tired or feel broken along the way.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
The museum, in particular, is always looking for committed volunteers with leadership skills, self-motivation and a passion for the mission of the organization. We are also always looking for committee members who are active and engaged, and can potentially be moved into board membership positions. These people should be happy to put in elbow grease, support existing projects with their time, talents and resources, lead with their own ideas where appropriate, and help solicit support for the museum through funds, item donations, relationship building or anything else that it may need.
In our business, we like to partner with marketing departments or agencies and media buyers who have large clients, but perhaps don’t have the internal content creation capacity that they need.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.islandspacefl.org / www.islandsyndicate.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/islandspace | www.instagram.com/islandsyndicate
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/islandspacefl | www.facebook.com/islandsyndicate
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/islandsyndicate
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/islandspace | www.youtube.com/islandsyndicate
