We were lucky to catch up with Samuel Walker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Samuel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

I worked for LensCrafters from August 2017 until April 2019. I used income from this job to bootstrap what I thought to be my entrepreneurial endeavors. I built some really great friendships with my co-workers and our team was a dedicated one. Yet, as most retail jobs are, I found my stress at an all-time high. Lack of empathy for us associates due to sales goals only added fuel to the fire that was burning inside.

It was time for us to get our store sales totals, KPIs, etc. I was having a sit down with my GM at the time and he informed me of my sales contribution to our store. He also explained how my sales totals faired against other stores in the district amongst countless other things. He stated, “Your total sales were right at $400,000 for the year.” The congratulations poured in as he showed me the numbers of my colleagues and how I was at the top of my game for our location, but not so much for the region. That didn’t matter to me. What mattered was the fact that I made 400k for the company. Then, as I’m walking out of the back where we were meeting, it dawned on me. I know I have base pay and we are supposed to get commissions on top of that; how much of my sales really came back to me?

I remember it like it was yesterday! I started to go through my portal and tally up all of my commissions from my pay stubs within that sales year. Typing, clicking, highlighting, and writing each sales commission per month down on a sheet of paper. When I was finished, the results were enough to make me put in a notice for a certain date in the future! Having been told as a first-year associate that I did outstanding, I made less than 1% of my total sales in commissions. It was crazy! The math wasn’t mathing at first but soon, after accounting for a few numbered mistakes, my findings were consistent.

There was a ton of confusion, heartache, anger, and frustration that came with these findings for me. All the way up until my last day in April. I still liked who I worked with but the structure of the company wasn’t to my liking. This led me to the thought that, if I can make a company 400k in one year, what’s stopping me from doing it for myself or a business of my own? What makes franchises like this successful? What made those customers I served want to keep coming back, even though there were competitors on every block? But the most important question for myself… why am I even trying to compete in the first place?

The answers came a couple of years later, which allowed me to get to the point where I am today. Environment and truth make people give you two of their most important assets; their time and their energy. I was able to flourish in LensCrafters because the environment was set up for me to do so. The one-on-one dialogue allowed me space to teach the truth about what the patient needs and they could see an aesthetic that supported that experience. Learning this was vital as an author and entrepreneur because it allowed my limiting beliefs to be lifted from my mind. Telling truths about my personal experiences, what I learned from them, and how someone else can learn from them, all while showing social proof of people who experienced growth, creates an environment of authenticity for me internally and externally.

A powerful lesson indeed.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am an authorpreneur, thought leader, wellness consultant, poet, debut self-publishing author, and founder of multi-media publishing company Agency Eleven Co. I am also the face of the wellness lifestyle brand Sam Walker INSPO and founder/host of the Can I Talk My Shift podcast, dedicated to helping listeners identify blockages that keep them from becoming their most authentic selves.

My debut self-help book titled “Unity is the Shift”, casts new light on the cohesion between spirituality, emotional intelligence, self-accountability, and unifying the heart & mind. I feel the message will spark reformed change inside out-of-touch adults, allowing their truest form of self-expression to resurface. Yet, it doesn’t stop there. Knowing our healthiest form of expression starts in the mind, my hope my is the message will resurface authenticity within the community, as well as the culture. Through my works, I aim to enhance readers’ perception of self, while allowing my own transparency to draw out the vulnerability it takes to open new chapters in life.

My experience in western health and wellness, consulting, nutrition, counseling, and group therapy, has since transitioned into more eastern philosophies, intertwining Kemetic spirituality, cosmology, and metaphysics. With an AA in Digital Filmmaking & Videography, garnered through The Art Institute of Atlanta, my once dream-driven pathway into music and media, has shifted into stimulating creative content, podcasting, spoken word, and literature. Remaining autodidactic throughout my life has enables me to combine all my continued education and skills into what lies before you today.

I ensure that I am cultivating impactful literature that breathes the message of unity and casts new light on the cohesion between spirituality, emotional intelligence, self-accountability, and unifying the heart & mind.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is knowing the power it has to release people from an attachment, a bonding, or a limiting belief. When we talk about creative energy what we’re dealing with is a spiritual aspect within each and every one of us. An idea channeled from the ether, put into a tangible form, then experienced by another is impactful beyond comprehension. Imagine that there’s this pool of ideas and energy that anyone in the world can tap into. Some are able to channel it one way while others are able to in a completely different way.

That’s what inspiration is to me. So when I move with that spark and create something tangible, I surely expect it to do the same for someone else who digests it because what I’ve created is filled with that same energy. It’s an exchange, an ebb, and flow that will continue even when I’m no longer here. Being able to understand it, respect it, and yield it is truly a gift I’m grateful for.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Identifying where attachment, fear, and control have plagued my life was a deep realization for me. I was desperately attached to the outcomes that I wanted for myself and others. Yet, we all know that isn’t real life. What we may want isn’t always in our best interest or our highest good. Once I had that realization I soon discovered where I thought I released my attachment to people, places, and things, it only bled into my efforts. I became aware that I was extremely attached to the effort I put into my creative work, my healing, and my relationships. I had this limiting belief that the more effort I put into something it would absolutely bring me what I wanted and the less effort I put in, the less likely I would get the desired outcome.

Needless to say, attachment comes from the fear of not having control. So through my efforts, I’ve been trying to control something that can not be controlled! This is self-manipulation formed from the premise that I’m not enough. So since I’m not enough, I must do everything in my power so everyone will know I am enough, But this cycle is dangerous and doesn’t allow the space for your true, authentic self to experience life as it rightfully should. I’m happy to share that I’ve broken free from that cycle. Free in the sense that I am able to identify when it’s occurring, which then allows me to change where I’m operating from. It’s deep inner work that my dialogue is basically centered. There is a different feeling when I move from a space of knowing versus when I’m trying to control because I don’t know or believe.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.samwalkerinspo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samwalkerinspo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-walker-034525b8/
• Other: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unityistheshift/unity-is-the-shift