We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Robert Whitehorn III a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Robert, 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?
My resilience absolutely comes from my faith but also knowing what the “bottom” feels like. I have been in dark places before where I had to pull myself out and my drive to never return keeps me pushing forward.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a content creator that focuses on anime. Anime has always been a big part of my life, so creating content around it feels like second nature. I began watching anime at a very young age with my cousins. At the time, Dragon Ball Z was my favorite anime but we all played and watched Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh together. I also got a chance to watch some of the older shows like Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha, Cowboy Bebop and others with my older cousins. As I aged, anime became my favorite form of entertainment to watch, due to the story-telling, lessons, and themes. Currently, I still watch a lot of anime and I am able to talk about it with an entire community! It’s still mind-blowing how much anime culture has grown over the years and I’m excited to be a longtime fan!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Consistency – This quality is major! If you are creating content, one of the hardest hurdles you will face is the mental hurdle. Putting in hours of work for little return will happen constantly, but you will need to learn to improve and adapt. If you are counting on instant gratification, you may quit before you even truly began!
Community – Building and connecting with your community is imperative. There are many people taking the time out of their day to give you a little bit of theirs, so you need to be grateful and attentive to their wants and needs. Support the people who support you and always show love!
Happiness – Do NOT do content creation solely for monetary gain if you do not have to. It is mentally taxing if you do not do something you are passionate about. Try to make content around topics you love so you will enjoy your work! The happier you are, the better you’ll resonate with your viewers who also want to experience that same happiness!
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I pray and listen to very calming, happy music to get my mindset back on track. Even though it’s nearly impossible not to stress, one thing we all know is that stress has never solved a problem yet. It only makes it tougher to plan your way out of a rut! When the anxiety kicks in, you should give yourself a limited amount of time to feel those feelings, but after the time is up, you must promise yourself to switch gears. Whatever your happy place entails, do that! Go play outside or go play those videogames that made you happy when you were a kid. Your inner child truly holds all the secrets to what makes you truly happy. If adulthood means you need to completely tuck away your happiness, never grow up! Just become a responsible version of you but still prioritize happiness, life and love!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theshonenshowdown.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shonenshowdown/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/shonen_showdown
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfn5zY4qYxyj3GnTvs93rjA
