Meet Big Ced

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Big Ced. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with BIG CED below.

BIG CED, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

This is the easiest question I came across because I got my resilience from my mother. Ever since I could remember, her resiliency set the tone for me to learn about being resilient which helped me later in life when I had come across difficult times. Knowing that whatever the situation is, does not equate to failure and even if it does, it doesn’t mean I can’t bounce past whatever the problem or issue I had encountered. There is always room to grow, learn, and bounce back from.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’ve been running my website, The Industry Cosign for 21 years after deciding that I wanted to have a platform to express my creativity and thoughts. I never took a journalism class or had an interest in writing but it was there for me to conquer, so I partnered with someone to launch the site and because of what I created for my website, I was asked to write for other publications over the years. I’ve written for publications like Bleu Magazine, Billboard, The Source, and Black Enterprise to name a few.

Did I think I’d still be doing my website 20-plus years later, yes, because it was something I had a passion for, so as long as I want to be creative, I have my own outlet where I don’t have to wait for anyone or get permission to write something, which is a great thing.

I’ve been freelancing for Black Enterprise for the past five years but this year, I promised myself that my website would be my primary focus so more doors can and will be opened due to my creativity. This includes revamping a podcast I started years ago.

I mostly enjoy showcasing other creatives and executives to allow my audience to meet new people they may not have heard of and I feel they should.

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?

The hustle is real. You have to want it to make something happen as opposed to waiting for others or waiting for someone else to give you permission. Especially when you are dealing with people who may not understand your vision or thought process.

Being creative is another thing for someone who wants to utilize their talents for their profession and/or hobbies. Working in a field that doesn’t always require technical knowledge, you will obtain whatever you may need to be successful in what you do. Using myself as an example, as I stated, never took a journalism class but did more than others who went to school for that craft. Learning along the way, on the job, so to speak, works when you want to be successful in what you embark on. That is also part of the hustle, knowing you will succeed even if you don’t have the required skills, but have the passion to get it done.

Just pushing myself to make things happen is another trait needed when starting your own company or working on your craft so you can work for yourself or on your own time. Having to work for someone isn’t a bad thing, but knowing I can work on whatever I choose to work on without getting permission is a great thing and a good feeling.

I would advise that anyone who wants to pursue their dream is to find out what is needed to accomplish whatever goals you may have and never let any type of failure hold you back. Resilience is a real thing that you can benefit from.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Teaching me how to be my own person and to think for myself. We have too many people on this planet who can’t or won’t think for themselves and are sheep. There’s nothing wrong with that if you choose that road, but, I’d prefer to be a leader than a follower any day. So, the teachings of my parents have helped me get ahead of others because sometimes, you shouldn’t wait for another person or for anyone to make a decision for you if you can and want to think for yourself.

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Image Credits

Profile pic- Rowena Husbands

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