We recently connected with Jeremiah Jacksun and have shared our conversation below.

Jeremiah , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

Thank you, Canvas Rebel magazine for speaking with me today. To your question, we all have a story to tell. The only difference is that some of us are brave enough to take the first step and start the process in order to share with the world. I am one of those people who decided to take on this journey and share my narrative with the world. I am not your average person, I am someone who has been through a lot in my life and made it out alive, stronger than before. A lot of my story can be found on, and through, my podcast “Know Your Platform”. I tell the story of how I grew up in a household that didn’t provide motivating forces. It can be hard to find success since you don’t have a support system. I grew up in a household that was abusive, and where you either felt neglected or forced to obey. I felt withdrawn and unable to express my emotions, and music became the one thing that helped me do it. My mother withdrew too, because of the troubling environment. My older sister didn’t share the same hardships I did, which is why she ended up growing up differently from me. Me and my brother shared the same spark for what drove us-our dad’s abuse. It pinned this intense motivation inside me to become someone who was wildly different from who he made me out to be – especially when it came to how he treated us as a family. And while it took years for me to really understand my true potential, the dark moments I had in my upbringing definitely shaped who I am today as a man and artist – because they pushed me just as hard as my father tried to tame my ambition. At that point, the road to self-discovery became mandatory. That said, my journey was full of mistakes, setbacks and lessons learned. Life has also been abundant with beautiful insights and achievements. If I were to do it all over again, I would because I’ve found forgiveness in recent years. Forgiveness is for myself, not them. I want anyone who’s reading this to be inspired to start their own journey of self-discovery if they haven’t done so already. It’s imperative and possible.

Jeremiah , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure, I’m a musical artist and I started writing my feelings when I was 13 or 14 years old. As I got older, I started to layer melodies on top of the lyrics. And ever since then, I’ve loved Hip-Hop. To be precise, Hip-Hop culture has always interested me so much that I started to study it. And through studying Hip-Hop as an artist, and seeing all the successful artists who came before us, we can plan out our own way into this industry. In addition to being an artist–which has been fantastic for me–I also work as a songwriter for other musicians. The thing that makes me most proud is that I can see fulfillment in my dream of being a successful artist. I have an album called Thinking Out Loud, which is currently streaming on every platform. It’s my first album, and I’m proud of it for what it stands for as well as how its music makes me feel. The vulnerability in the content is something listeners will appreciate right away. My brand is to bring simplicity to you. Through consistency and hard work, you can grow exponentially. Study yourself and become your own best friend, so that success is inevitable. What’s coming up next? Sometimes there are surprises in store, but I always want to keep you updated. Stay tuned for updates on the latest music releases.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The Tao Te Ching is one of many books that has given me perspective as a person and as a business owner. Reading the Tao Te Ching has had a massive impact on my approach to starting my own business. With regards to business for example, Taoism tells us to focus more on people than on personal gains or successes.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn is that in order to earn the respect of others, you must have money and power. Little by little, I realized this wasn’t really necessary. It is possible to get respect without having a lot of money and power, but this requires teamwork and goodness. Instead of looking at others as easier targets for the sake of getting what you want, we need to look at them as potential equals who deserve respect just as much as you do. I learned this from an early age– when we saw that the drug dealers were getting all the respect from everyone else in my neighborhood. Even if I didn’t choose drugs as my path to achieve something greater, it was clear that they were a shortcut with money and power leading the way before anything else mattered.There are many parts of society who may disagree with me, but I believe that if we approach people with respect before judgment then we will be more successful moving forward together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeremiahjacksun.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremiahjacksun
• Other: https://www.knowyourplatformpodcast.com

Image Credits
Jam Jones