We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mario Gage. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mario below.
Hi Mario, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
One of my favorite song lyrics is “your attitude determines your latitude,” which of course is the opening line uttered by Kanye West on Rhymefest’s 2006 hit song “Brand New.” I oftentimes find myself quoting this particular lyric because it’s so true—having a positive attitude and approach to all that life throws at you can put you lightyears ahead of mastering whatever hurdle or obstacle you are trying to overcome. Whenever I’m faced with major setback in life—whether its getting laid off from a job of 6 years, or my dream car getting totaled by a drunk driver—I always remind myself that sometimes God sets you back in life to set you up for something better to happen. Things don’t happen to you—they happen FOR you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
The first half of my background is in the financial services industry. I worked for 6 years at a Chicago-headquartered investment management firm. Currently, I am doing consultant based work for various initiatives in the financial services industry—including a fintech financial literacy startup. I was exposed to the world of investing at a very young age because I attended an elementary school in Chicago that taught investment classes. This led to me joining an investment club outside of school and starting my own personal stock portfolio at the age of 12—a portfolio that I still manage today at the age of 31. In 2004, I entered an essay writing contest held by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago called the Money $mart Kid Contest, where you write an essay about a financial topic. This was the inaugural year for the contest, and I ended up winning and was named the very first Money $mart Kid by The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. From there, I became an ambassador for financial literacy, frequently traveling around on speaking engagements speaking about basic financial concepts and money management techniques–something that I continue to do today.
The second half of my background is in the music space as a DJ and music curator. I initially started off just collecting vinyl records at the age of 11. Within a year, I began DJing and booked my first-ever DJ gig in 2004 as the DJ for a Jill Scott album listening party hosted in Chicago. Currently, I host a bi-weekly Classic HipHop radio show called “The Essence” on WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago—a show I’ve been hosting since 2011. I also DJ at varies parties and events that I produce around the Chicagoland area (and throughout the rest of the country). As I mentioned earlier, I’m an avid vinyl collector, and I currently have a collection of around 10,000 records. Speaking of vinyl, a fun project that I am currently working on is an archival and digitization project where I am working with a Chicago-based foundation to archive and digitize the entire vinyl collection of Frankie Knuckles (The God Father of House Music). The end-goal of this digitization project is to make the music of Frankie Knuckles’ collection accessible online to everyone around the world.
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?
As humans, we have a natural tendency to want to compare ourselves and our progress in life to that of others. One thing pivotal thing that I’ve learned is you can’t compare your Chapter 2 to someone else’s Chapter 37. Comparison is the thief of joy—if you worry about the food on someone else’s plate, your food will get cold. This leads me to my second point—once I realized that we’re all running our own race, gratitude became something that has been more prominent in my life. Gratitude has allowed me to appreciate my life for all that it is, as opposed to what it is not. Lastly, another key takeaway that has helped me gain perspective in life is the idea that how you pivot is how you prosper. We can never control the curve balls that get thrown to us by life, but we can always control how we respond to them.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I have found that whenever I am in situations or scenarios that feel insurmountable, I am able to find clarity and purpose by saying a prayer to God asking him to use me to be a blessing to someone that day or in that instance. Every single time I say that prayer, the situation almost immediately works itself out and I’m able to positively impact someone else’s life in the process. At the end of the day, they say you’ve served your purpose on this earth if at least one person can say their life was better because you existed.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twelve_gage/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/twelve_gage12
