We were lucky to catch up with Markos Papadatos recently and have shared our conversation below.
Markos, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I was able to develop my confidence and self-esteem simply by finding my true passion in life, and that’s writing, journalism, and storytelling. The best thing I ever did in my life was leave Corona, Queens! At the time, I was doing a job where I was miserable… I taught for the public school system in New York, which was a thankless profession. It was all about student test scores all the time (ELA, Math, and Science), and teachers were looked as a sole test score to the administration. I knew that the DOE wasn’t for me, so I left… The world became my oyster… and I made my passion/hobby, journalism, my career, and my life has never been the same ever since. The moment I left Corona, that was when I was introduced to the worlds of Olympic action sports, Hallmark, and television dramas, and it has been a wild, crazy and incredible ride ever since, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Simply by doing something that I love has helped enhance my confidence levels, self-esteem and overall, comfort. I became more extroverted as a natural side effect. To this day, I have over 20,700 bylines to my credit in my 18-year journalism career, and I am living proof of perseverance, keeping at it, and working hard. William Arthur Ward famously said “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.” I fell in the latter category, and most importantly, I am happy after all.
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 journalist, editor, and reporter. I am affectionately known as “The Powerjournalist” due to the my efficient and fast turnaround rate as I churn out my articles in a fast speed.
I interview people for a living, I review CDs, songs, restaurants, concerts, movies, and live shows.
I cover a diverse range of topics from entertainment, music, lifestyle, and sports, so each day is totally interesting, different, and exciting. All of these different topics keep me on my toes.
While I recently just celebrated 20,700 bylines to my credit, the best part is that I feel like I’m only getting started… and that’s me being 18 years in my journalistic journey.
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?
Reliability (Knowing that people can count on me) Productiveness (My work ethic speaks for itself… on an given day, I produce/write 6 to 10 published articles)
Positivity (I try to be a voice of positive news… I try to find the goodness in everything I cover and promote)… I feel that the world needs more of that these days… I always pride myself in being the Anti-TMZ journalist.
Also, being trustworthy is important… especially having people’s trust and vice versa… When people know you have their best interests at heart, they are more willing to open up to you and spill their guts to you (as if it were a natural conversation, and it doesn’t feel like an interview at all)
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I loved Tim Tebow’s “Through My Eyes: A Quarterback’s Journey,” which came out over a decade ago. It showcased him being a man of great character, faith, humility, and he used his platform to help children (and children’s hospitals) all over the world, among other philanthropic causes. His life story are an inspiration to us all, especially since it’s about a person (Tebow) who found the means to go beyond the ordinary, and he expanded and redefined contemporary sports into what they are today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.digitaljournal.com/author/markos-papadatos
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepowerjournalist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markos.papadatos
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/powerjournalist?lang=en
Image Credits
Photo Credit: Gary Hahn (for all of these images… same photographer)
