We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeff Bradford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeff below.
Jeff, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Creativity for me always needs to be nurtured and supported to keep it alive. I feel the pressure of my social environments (money, consuming technology, comparing my stature to others, etc) slowly erodes my creativity.
Im fortunate that I have found film and storytelling in a career field I enjoy, which has nurtured my creativity and keeps it alive. Instead of consuming, I am creating for the world, sharing with the world other cultures and seeing the world through my lens with videos, pictures, words.
Lastly, find a rhythm of rest that keeps you refreshed and allows you to connect to your highest self.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I empower the individual makers of distinguished alcoholic drinks with the beauty of storytelling, so they can leave a lasting legacy on the people and communities who come together to enjoy their drinks, be it beer, wine, or spirits.
People drink for connection. People drink for nostalgia. We drink to feel like we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, but most of all, we drink to feel part of the huIman story.
I enable a lasting impact in the global alcohol industry in 4 key areas:
🍷🍷 Together with the world’s best makers, I share the stories of how drinks are made, shared, enjoyed, and remembered across the world using inspirational videos.
🍸🍸Alongside 100+ mentors, I’ve mastered the skills of brewing and distilling. I share these skills in a teaching capacity to individuals who would like to become part of the story.
🥃🥃 As a distiller for Spheric Spirits, we’re mastering ancient techniques and putting
our spin on things, so we can create something new and fresh.
🍻🍻 In our online community, I’m empowering the alcohol industry to change the narrative on health and wellness surrounding alcohol. We’re opening conversations about the unseen health benefits of certain drinks, and exploring healthier ways to connect over alcohol.
As custodians of nostalgia, we all have a collective duty of care to ensure the next generation can learn and love the processes that have been passed down through family stories.
Our legacy is to infuse the same passion and skill into their master craftsmanship. Together, we respect and honor the culture and traditions of creating exceptional alcohol throughout the world.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three important qualities, skill or areas of knowledge that were the most impactful for me in my life are:
1. The Role of Suffering – My 20 year military career taught me a lot about suffering. Losing your friends in combat, not knowing if you’re going to be alive tomorrow are just a few of many examples I experienced. The military tested me physically and mentally. It wanted to see my breaking points and it allowed me to understand my capacities both physically and mentally. Through my many experiences of suffering in the military, I found that it has made me resilient, better able to endure hardships and ones true character cannot and will not be developed in ease and quiet.
I am not implying that we ought to seek out suffering actively but when we learn to accept, even embrace, difficult experiences, our suffering becomes a tool, an instrument, for growth.
2. Your metric in life is to be the better version of who you were yesterday – To be nobody buy yourself in a world that’s doing its best to make you somebody else is the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting. – E.E. Cummings
Look at becoming better a better version of yourself Internally & Externally. Check in weekly, monthly, yearly or whatever milestones that work for you and that you think is important to track. Things that I track are:
Internally-
Happiness and Fulfillment. Look back at the week, month, year and see what made you happy, what things fulfilled you and start putting more of those things actively into your life.
Personal growth – Are you still in the same position you were 2 years ago in your occupation. Have you learned any new skills in the last 3 months? What are your strengths and weaknesses and how have you addressed them?
mental and physical health – How do I coupe with situations now as opposed to before? What goals physically do I want to hit? How can I improve my nutrition?
Externally –
Financial Stability & Wealth? My focus is on creating more passive income each month. Each year I increase it. The amount may be small one year, and bigger the next but it has increased since I first set this goal.
Personal & Professional accomplishments: This year I wanted to create my first short documentary and get selected to one film festival. We did. Next year will be to increase the number to 2 or 3 selections.
Contribution to Society – There is no better feeling than giving.
3. Earn money by expressing your valuable strengths to give value and uplift others and finding the most joyful fun and play in the work you do. I travel the world, tell stories and make booze. It was never about the money and never will be!
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?
They taught me the value of a dollar early in my life and take pride in the work you perform. I started mowing yards at 8 years old. Why, because I wanted Air Jordans and Calvin Klein underwear which my parents said they could only afford the Payless XJ-900s and Fruit of the Looms. My parents said you want Jordans, we have a lawn mower, go knock on doors and charge $5 dollars per yard. I did, and the first week I had 1 family out of 6 in our neighborhood that said yes to me.
I was discouraged only getting 1 yard to mow but my parents said, “when you mow that 1 yard put lines into like a baseball field, sweep the grass trimming and make that yard look amazing.” I did and I even used hedge trimmer to cut the few bushes they had as well That families yard was the best looking yard next to ours. The pride I had when I looked at it was second to none. After a few months, I had the rest of the 5 families hire me to mow their yards and was earning enough to buy more than just clothes I wanted.
I applied this when I first started creating YouTube videos in the alcohol industry. I took pride in creating visually compelling stories and it allowed me to work with big brands quickly, while only have a few hundred following on my social media channels. I didn’t have the social currency but the quality of my work is why these companies said yes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jeffbeerwinespirits.com/en
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeff.p.bradford/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beerwineandspirits/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreybradfordstrategicleader/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@drinkdestinations?si=h5bQ5y7Pw92EtM0Z
Image Credits
All images are mine
