Meet James Parriett

We recently connected with James Parriett and have shared our conversation below.

Hi James, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?

I have the resilience that was instilled in me early when I would see my mother work so hard to feed her family and create a home with little to nothing. I looked up to my mom and she worked hard for what she got in life, though she had a disability she never agreed to anyone saying that she was disabled. She coached me to be persistent and to go after what I wanted in life, including when I joined the United States Marine Corps. I can really say that this was the opportunity I needed to grow, thrive and to learn from my life mistakes early on in life. So, moving forward is the only option in life, or you will be left behind whether you like it or not.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

The Grind podcast and E-Magazine has been around since 2015, when it was started as Preface Media in Atlanta Georgia. Since then the brand has been revised and rebooted because of the need to find out how I wanted to deliver the content in my own special way. I noticed that there was a gap for exposure between the small business and the big brand names that could afford the media exposure at the time so I started to do a couple interviews with friend’s and family and it took off. It all started because one of my close friend Actress Jules Nobles, told me that a had a great way of talking with someone and getting to know them and I should pursue it. So shortly after that conversation the podcast The Grind was born, later DJ experience and additional services were added to the brand along with my wife Valerie Parriett’s branding and marketing touch. We have expanded quite slower than our competitors and to me that’s a great benefit, because each and every person we talk with and do business with tends to be people that are still around, long lasting and still contribute to the brand through ideas and conversation.

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?

The three skills that I have picked up along the way has been the ability to listen to people and not to talk so much. At times we can get caught up on what we want to say, but if you let someone just talk you begin to see what the individual is about and you can see either good qualities that you want around you or bad. Second, I would say the fact of following through on things would be the next skill that the Marines had instilled, you may not want to do it but it has to get done because others depend on you. Lastly, being there as much as you can for the ones around you that you consider family and friends.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I can feel overwhelmed at times and to be honest I suffer from anxiety and have been for years. I never wanted to tell anyone or let people inside of my circle to even know that I have that obstacle, but I’m not super human nor do I pretend to be. I had to learn to share and let people know that I’m not alright sometimes and its ok and I am working through it. Getting that time away to read a book, take a walk and o enjoy the environment around you is key.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thegrind.online
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegrindlv/
• Twitter: https://x.com/DJRetro1990
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DJRETRO1990

Image Credits

James Parriett