We recently connected with Jhavion Tate and have shared our conversation below.
Jhavion, 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.
I developed my confidence and self-esteem from learning to not care about what anyone said about me. Growing up, I was talked about in school and laughed at but something I will always keep in the back of my head is that when people have to belittle someone else and make them feel less than is only because they are extremely jealous of that individual. Also, I made up in my mind that no matter how other people viewed me I am living my life for me and not anyone else. although, I was laughed and picked at it didn’t last long there is no better threat than someone who is comfortable with the person they are. My mom would always quote a little saying that stated “sticks and stones may break my bones but words may never hurt me”. Realizing that people are going to be talking about you whether you are dead or alive.
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?
Hi my name is Jhavion but I go by my middle name Zárek and I’m a social media influencer. With over 800 thousand followers on TikTok. After originally being born in Dubai on vacation, I was then granted dual citizenship in the states. I did school in the states, since I was little I have always known that i wanted to be a social media influencer. I remember being in 6th grade and my teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I got older and i told her a social media influencer, her having little knowledge of what that was she just kind of brushed it off. A month before graduating highschool I got into a really bad four wheeler accident I truly thought my life was over. When I woke up I knew that it was nobody but God that kept me alive. After I woke up I was informed that I had been unconscious for two weeks and the chances of me pulling through were slim to none. So i asked God to show me my purpose and what was his reason for keeping me alive. Two years after i graduated from highschool I started my journey in the influencer world. I received a message from my 6th grade teacher that stated “ You did exactly what you said you were going to do in 6th grade, i’m extremely proud of you”. All I could do was just look at the message and smile from ear to ear. I currently reside in North Carolina and was working a 9-5 while also being a part time student in college. I spent my free time making videos on tiktok, honestly just being so unserious. As I started posting more , I slowly started to gain a following of people who also enjoyed laughing as much as I did. After reaching 100k, I was then invited to enroll in the tiktok creator fund where I was able to capitalize and monetize off of tiktok. At this point in time I was still working everyday, getting 3 days off a week. As I continued to make my videos they continued to go viral! I will never forget being at work, I was at 199k followers and having a really bad day. I asked God if he could allow me the opportunity to make living off social media, i’d give it my all. Shortly after I was then able go quit my job, and work on social media full time! ( Knowing my personality was far too big for an Amazon warehouse.) I was then making up to 5 figures a month, and reaching people all over the world. Even getting messages from followers stating how my videos are more than just jokes but getting them through hard times as well. That only makes me want to go even harder, even though it just comes naturally. So while pursuing a career in the Dental Industry, i’m going to continue sharing my everyday life and what I have to say with my following and see where it takes me.
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?
I would say the three skills that helped me in my journey thus far would be. Self assurance, Time management and self confidence. Self assurance has helped me tremendously in making my content, I always tell myself “this video is going to do numbers or “as long as i post consistently my engagement is going to stay at an all time high”. I like to assure myself because there is nothing I cannot do when I put my total belief in myself. Time management is also a necessity in the content creator world. Without being able to manage my time there is no way I would be as successful as I am today. I am in school pursuing my career in the dental field so schoolwork takes up majority of my time. Although, school takes up most of my time that little percentage of time that I have when I am not in the books is the time I use to record my content. Most of the time I record multiple videos in one sitting and post them throughout the week. Even when I am having quality time with family and friends I find myself recording our interactions as well, as most of my content is my interactions with my family. My last skill Self confidence, is a skill that if you simply do not have you will not make it far. Opening yourself up to becoming an influencer can be stressful at times. Understanding and realizing that you are putting yourself out there in the world to let total strangers into a portion of your life. One thing you have to realize is that not everyone is going to agree with everything that you do and will cause people to form and voice their own opinions in your comments. You cannot conform to people just because they don’t see situations the same as you. My mother and father always told me “sometimes you have to be like a duck, and let the water just roll off your back” meaning people are going to talk about you but you cannot let those words stick to you when you know who are at the end of the day. To anyone who would like to take this step in the content world I will tell you to be yourself 100%, and when you are first starting out do not get discouraged if you don’t see interaction on your page KEEP POSTING anyways. Realizing that everyone with a lot of followers started at zero as well. Once you find out what kind of content you want to post and be known for, be consistent and your audience will find you and support you.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
My biggest area of growth and improvement I can say has been in my maturity. I have worked tremendously on not feeding into negative feedback. I used to always have my guard up and be so quick to snap on anything negative said to me. When I first started this journey I used to let the negativity bother me to the point where I would not post for a couple days just to avoid the negativity. I then realized that was hurting me more than helping me. So I prayed and asked God for patience and temperance. Today i can truly say that I have mastered being more mature and not letting what people say get to me. Also, having an amazing support system like my parents, siblings, friends and cousins has also been a major help to me. One of my cousins Doctor Q, is a dentist and also a content creator he has pushed me to continue doing school and create my content. Watching him lets me know that there is no limit to what I can do in life if I put my mind to it. My mother also has helped me even though she is not the typical photogenic type of person if I think of a video that would need me to include her and I ask her to get in the video with me she asks no questions and jumps right in to help me make the video. In conclusion, my comfortability on the camera and with myself has improved as well as skills and knowledge.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Jhavion.tate
- Facebook: @ Jhavion Zarek
- Youtube: Jhaviontate
- Other: Tiktok: @Jhavion.tate
