We were lucky to catch up with Jeffrey Blount recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jeffrey, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
My parents. Being born into the love of Doris and Edward Blount was the first great blessing of my life. Through unwavering unconditional love and support, they made me believe in myself. No matter how crazy I dreamed, they told me to believe. They taught me to see that when I failed, it was not a negative. It was an opportunity for reflection through which I could continue to grow. They were in full support when I said I wanted to play the trumpet, even though it meant they would have to stretch financially to buy the instrument. They supported me when I said I wanted to play football and cheered me on when I made the team. The same when I set out for a Black Belt in Karate, which I earned. They stood beside me, proud and happy, when I decided that I would graduate from high school an honor graduate. I did that and could see their bright smiles from the stands when I delivered a speech at my graduation. Years later when I called them to express my uncertainty about directing my first television newscast, my mother said, “Jeffrey, look back at your life. When have you failed at anything when you put your mind to it?” She was right and I laughed because they had helped me build a resume of success and a strong belief in myself. And on the most difficult day of my directing career, when I was about to become the first African American to direct the Today Show, when I felt terribly alone, carrying the weight of knowing that if I failed, it might be years before another Black person received the opportunity; In that moment, even as the show open came on the air, my parents were with me, reminding me that I had never failed when I put my mind to it. It was a perfect show. I have a strong belief in my abilities and most of the time, I feel pretty good about myself. I owe all of it to my parents. All of it.
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 am a novelist. I have always loved to read and the more I did so, the more I respected beautiful storytelling and the better storyteller I became. I grew into a broadcast journalism career because I found the idea of merging video with words to be a new and intriguing way of telling stories. I learned over time that both vocations, journalism and fiction writing, required the ability to listen and the ability to quietly observe. They both produce work that hopefully informs, guides and even rights wrongs. While I did not consider myself an activist when I was a journalist, because I don’t believe true journalists should do that, I do see myself as a literary activist. During this, the novelist part of my life, I feel it is time to speak about the issues that I have mulled over through the years. Issues collected, carried, reflected on, raged about and written about, because I believe so strongly in the power of the written word to make change. I believe in the power of the novel to create the kind of empathy in readers that turns them into agents of change. I hope to make literary change with each work I create. “Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way” my latest novel, which releases on January 16, 2024, is intended to inform as well as entertain. To make readers think, reflect, and maybe even see the world a little differently. It is a novel intended to make a real difference in the world. I know that novels can do this. It’s why I am fond of quoting Margaret Atwood, who wrote, “A word after a word after a word……is power.” “Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way” is available for preorder everywhere you can buy books.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three most impactful qualities on my life’s journey are observing, listening and kindness. No matter what you do, I believe that if you aren’t being a good observer, you can’t make good decisions. If you don’t listen well, you can’t make good decisions and you can’t help others make good decisions. Both of these qualities help you to understand the world in which you live and work. In my early years, I was suprised to find so many people who were not able to do either effectively. The best way to develop these is to make a serious effort to practice them daily. Strive to make them real, active parts of your life. I was given the advice to become a good listener when I was a freshman in college, working on my first novel length project. I had the opportunity to speak to a published author and I asked him for advice. He offered one word. Listen. Later, he said, “If you want to know what conversations in a bar sound like, you go in, buy a beer, sit down and listen. Don’t talk to anyone. Just listen. And not just to the words. Hear the joy and the pain. Hear the comfort and the doubts. Words are more than just sounds.” This was the best advice I ever received from another writer, but it became a part of my whole life. I use it in every relationship in my life. But the most important, again came from my parents. Kindness. We all know how to be kind, but we don’t make it a part of our daily lives. It seems that being kind is a rarity, which is why social media platforms have reminder and how-to kindness pages. There would be no need for them if kindness was truly a common thing. I don’t think anyone needs advice on how to be kind, we just need to be reminded to take the time. Nothing has been more impactful for me in my life and nothing has brought better returns, or I should say, more joy for my soul. Person to person, I believe it could change our world.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
There are other books that I love more, but arguably the most important book in my life was “Black Boy” by Richard Wright. I used to call it my second Bible. I have told you that I got my confidence and self-esteem from my parents, however, by the time I went to school, I was also in a world without them all day long. Despite one’s confidence level, it can be challenging. I started my education in segregated schools. When they integrated, I found it difficult as a young African American student. So many seemed to want to see me and other African American children fail academically during this transition. In “Black Boy,” Richard Wright wrote to my concerns and fears regarding this issue. He shared that he had many of the same concerns. And he wrote about why, even as others doubted him, he learned to have faith in himself and his dreams. He wrote, “I knew that I lived in a country in which the aspirations of Black people were limited, marked-off. Yet, I felt that I had to go somewhere and do something to redeem my being alive.” This piece of wisdom was a tremendous help for me during those trying times.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jeffreyblount.com
- Instagram: @jeffreyeblount
- Facebook: Jeffrey Blount, Author
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-blount-999a3313
- Twitter: @JEBlount
- Youtube: @JeffreyBlountAuthor
Image Credits
The picture of me in the black shirt should be credited to Tina Krohn. The others are from event appearances which I have clearance to use.
