Meet John Johnson

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

John, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
My optimism comes from my outlook on life in general. When I think about my outlook on life, I think about a story of a young immigrant woman who came to the United States in search of creating a better life for herself after not being raised with her parents. This woman remained undeterred even after facing more challenges and adversity shortly after arriving into the States. Years past, and this woman made more of a life for herself, had 2 children of her own and was now expecting a third. 4 months pregnant with this baby, doctors told the woman during a general check-up visit that the baby had no heartbeat and would not live, and there was nothing they could do to help at that time.

Fast forward and thanks to faith, prayer, and divine intervention, that baby lived….I am honored to say, that baby was ME! This story is a story about my mother journeying from the island of Trinidad & Tobago forging a new life for herself that has not only actualized her dreams into a reality in many regards but also introduced and developed a high-level work ethic, self-confidence, determination, persistence. and purpose-driven mindset into each of her 8 kids, and especially me. For reasons like this one, knowing what those who have came before me so that I could be here today…or knowing that I almost didn’t make it here, that one time or another someone counted me out even before I came to this world, is all the more reason to be optimistic about the life I have.

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 am originally from Brooklyn, NY, grew up in a family of 8, raised by a single-immigrant parent from Trinidad and Tobago. I specifically come from primarily inner-city neighborhoods and low-income public housing projects. I also grew up in church which helped to teach a wide range of my foundational skillsets and values such as respect, love, faith, dedication, commitment and more. I earned the title of Valedictorian in the 5th grade and went on to be an average performing student afterwards up until my senior year of high school when I almost failed out completely due to wrong crowds and poor decision-making. Luckily, I was able to turn my act around with the help of my community and ended up graduating High school on time. I went on to earn my Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Sociology from Russell Sage College in late 2019. As a first-generation college graduate and proud Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) alumni as well, I am an advocate for the power of education.

I founded John Johnson Speaks LLC in early 2023 after resigning from 2+ years as a higher education and student affairs professional. I also have a strong passion for customer service having done 4 years in food service/waitering. Tying in all of my experience, I am a dynamic speaker, communications specialist, and coach with a passion for empowering individuals and organizations who feel unseen, unheard, and/or misunderstood to activate their purpose.

As part of my work, I have facilitated over 100+ workshops and presentations and spoke to thousands of young people over the years via keynotes, panels, and more. I continue to have a passion to serve through mentorship and servant leadership. Mentoring and working with young men of color has been a huge piece of my journey as well as I share my transformational story of growing up without a father.

With over 10 years of experience in the field, I help countless individuals and organizations around the world develop effective communication strategies that drive success and positive impact in their personal and professional lives. Traveling to Africa for a community service project, where I lived for two months, I was able to help teach local kids alongside other student leaders who accompanied me for a truly life-changing experience.

Now on the public speaking circuit, My vision is to share what I have learned with those who may need to hear my story in order to continue finding success in their own right or in support of others. I am also an artist at heart, with a natural love for creative expression. Having written several spoken word pieces, I also enjoy attending open mics and other live musical and cultural performances in my free time. I am an active member of Make a Play Inc., Somos Inc., and Black and Latino 2023 Adult Achiever through the Capital Region YMCA.

To find out more information or how you can work with John, please visit www.johnjohnsonspeaks.com

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?
I would say the three most impactful qualities, skills or areas of knowledge would have to be patience, courage, and prayer.

My advice on how folks who are early in their journey can best develop/improve these are as follows:

Patience – Plan as if everything is going to take 6 months-1 year longer than what you hope it might take. A lot of times, we think we understand time, suggesting concepts like “time management” or such but really there is no managing or awareness of when things will take place in your life. In fact, a lot will tell you that a bunch of their success or next levels didn’t necessarily happen “on their time” and this is true for me as well. So I know that most times, when I just played the long game, it always turned out better than when I hoped something would come sooner and then it didn’t…this would almost always lead to frustration. Patience was and is still a huge key for me.

Courage – Take educated risks! I say educated with a grain of salt, because sometimes you will have some answers but you most times will not have ALL the answers you feel you want to make the jump on whatever that thing is for you. Thus, I want you to let the “risk” part of that phrase kick in…you have to take the leap! This is a huge skill when it comes to a lot in life, whether graduating high school, finishing a college degree, starting a business, or signing up for mental health therapy. These are all things that I have accomplished in my life but have required COURAGE. You got this.

Prayer – Identify your source and Creator and ground yourself within your Creator. Prayer is something that has helped to ground me in both times of celebration and times of chaos. As a younger boy, before I even knew how to pray correctly (which I still learn to this day by the way) I can remember just the discipline of having to kneel every day at the same time created a regimen for me that I will never forget. Prayer can help in many ways that you may not have even thought of yet and I can tell you from experience, that I KNOW it will do wonders in your life. You can ask others, read holy books/inspirational books, or watch videos on how to learn how to pray better.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes I am! I am definitely looking for individuals or organizations to partner with! These individuals would be folks who work at organizations who could benefit from my services. I do currently offer keynote speeches and presentations, workshop facilitation, mentorship/curriculum programming, coaching programs, and other related speaking engagements.

Right now, one of the primary challenges I am facing is to figuring out how to continue effectively scaling my business especially as a first-generation business owner and newly acquired business owner too, it can be a bit challenging to successfully outreach those of your clients who may need you but do not even know you exist yet. So, I would love to partner with folks who can point me in the direction of those I can serve or collaborate with so that my work can add value to their mission and vision.

I have served at colleges, high schools, nonprofit organizations, conferences, summer programs, and more. My work specializes in effective communication, making sure my clients feel seen, heard, and understood as they build relationships in their persona and professional lives. I have passion and dedication in all that I do and am very excited to partner with new professionals!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
The first five images are credited to “Oscar Demure Photography”

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