We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joel Cool . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joel below.

Hi Joel , thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I definitely consider myself a “risk taker” but feel there is a negative connotation around that phrase. Some people are just a little more curious or excited than others about diving into something new headfirst. And for those people, the word risk doesn’t seem so scary. It’s important to know yourself and understand who you are first, then accept it. I state this because I take so many risks, but to me, they don’t seem so daunting.

For example, my friends thought I was crazy when I bought a house in South LA, backpacked Italy alone, and started a DJ business from scratch just for fun (https://djjoelcool.weebly.com/). But nothing surprised them more than when I told them I wrote a book, The Ghost Guard, and asked them to come to my launch party. Their eyes went sideways, and they squawked with anticipation.

“I didn’t even know you were a writer,” Miguel said.

“Wait, so what’s it about?” Dom asked.

“It’s a goofy, adventurous young adult novel about a group of teenagers that save the town from a ghost troll invasion on Halloween,” I responded.

“That sounds like something you’d write,” Miguel said.

Ideas for books, songs, movies, and TV shows just come to me naturally throughout my adventures. So, I decided to write them down. I wasn’t sure at the time what I would do with them, but I knew I needed them documented. The character, Miles Finch, from the movie Elf had that little black book of kid’s book ideas and everyone wanted to hire him, so I figured it was a good start. It wasn’t until one Halloween when an idea hit me so intensely that I knew I needed to create it. I had never written a book before and honestly didn’t know where to start. I took to Google to see how others were crafting their novels, and what process they followed. From there I began writing whenever the urge would come. I wasn’t under any contract or deadline, so I didn’t force myself to write. I left it to when the story would compel me. I wrote my entire book on my iPhone in the notes section. It was choppy and jumbled but authentic. I then moved it to Microsoft Word for editing. It took me four years to complete with tons of help from my friends and family.

The risk here is that I was spending my time and money on a project that may not even be good enough, wanted, or enjoyed by the world. That’s where that self-doubt hits you and you decide to either keep going or give up. I decided that the work I was putting in was worth whatever might come of The Ghost Guard. In the end, I am so happy I took the risk and created it. The book launched successfully, and audiences have been embracing it. Risks can be intimidating but try to enjoy the ride because that’s what life is about. Enjoying all the emotions and moments that you are blessed with.

Joel , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Nice to meet you, new friends, I am Joel Camarena, pen name Joel Cool, an American of Mexican, Irish, Scottish, and German descent. I graduated from San Jose State University in International Business and moved to Los Angeles to pursue my dreams of becoming a professional in Corporate America. I didn’t know what I was going to do but I knew I loved problem-solving, stories, people, and crossing things off my checklist. This landed me an internship with The Walt Disney Company in Human Resources. I worked there for 6 years helping hire people for the company and then moved to Sony Pictures Entertainment where I also hire amazing people for jobs across the studio. These HR accolades aren’t why I am speaking with you today though.

Some of your passions may not always be the job that you hold on your LinkedIn profile but it doesn’t mean that you can’t move them forward on your own time. Writing has been a passion of mine since high school when I’d journal all about the latest happenings of last night’s small town house party. It was my escape and a way to share what was occurring in my life in a fun way. Since then, I’ve written songs, short film scripts, and my new novel, The Ghost Guard, which I am really proud of. So this is me, sharing my whole self. The corporate professional happy-go-lucky, DJ-spinning, book-writing weirdo who happens to like guys and is ready to show the world all of his authentic self.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My current creative journey is my writing. I am working on my second book, The Ghost Guard: Part 2, and writing songs. My goal is to express myself and hopefully add pieces of my truth into the world that others connect with or enjoy. I would love to be a catalyst for other people who might be afraid to pursue their passions and feel like they aren’t good enough. There is no one paying me to write or frankly asking me to. That doesn’t mean my stories won’t help people or bring people joy. We never know unless we put ourselves out there. I would love for people to one day say, I never thought I could do this but seeing you do something bold ignited the spark in me to at least try.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media can be so tough to figure out. It’s the internal battle on what you want to post versus what you think others want to see. You keep asking yourself, should I be authentic or post something risqué in hopes of more clicks? Should I show my happy self playing video games with a large pepperoni, pineapple, and mushroom pizza or me in a tight shirt in front of the Hollywood sign? I think it all depends on what you are trying to showcase and what your ultimate brand is. You should ask yourself, what is my brand and who am I hoping to reach? If you are a gamer trying to grow your Twitch fan base, then pizza and PS5 at home on a Friday is perfect! I would start posting content that is authentic to your brand or what you are trying to reach.

For example, the brand I have built on my social media is an available, happy, funny spontaneous ray of light that is a jack-of-all-trades dork. Go take a look at my Instagram and Tiktok to see if it matches. That is the brand I want to put out to the world. My socials focus on me and the adventures I have, sprinkled with fun and pop culture references from the 90s & 2000s. This aligns with my book, The Ghost Guard, when I market it. Now, if I were to start doing fitness or model-type content, my followers may think it’s not authentic and stop liking my posts.

Another piece of advice that I learned the hard way is to be okay with putting yourself out there. I kept my Instagram private for so long as I was worried what random people would think or do with my images. Then Tiktok came along and completely changed my outlook. This is why my Tiktok has 10.3K followers and my Instagram only 2K. I have since tried to build my Instagram up and am using the same tactic. Post what is authentic to your brand and matches what you are trying to sell, or uplift. Get social friend!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theghostguard.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/joelbcool
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/joelcamarena/
• Other: TikTok: Joelbecool

Image Credits

Summer Krueger