Not Almost There

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Why Not Almost There? I had never run a long race in my life, but here I am, in the middle of the 2015 Chicago Marathon. I’m feeling fantastic, even thinking I could go double the distance. Just being in this race was a mini-miracle. I had heart surgery and back surgery a decade earlier. I could barely stand back then, let alone run. Nonetheless, I’m fired up and feel better than ever. Then I see right in front of me— a sign that nearly stops me in my tracks, NOT ALMOST THERE. I try to brush it off but can’t stop thinking about those words. Every step seems heavier, harder, and then I start cramping up. I begin to walk and complain inside and out. I struggle the entire second half but finish (barely) with everything I have after being physically and mentally crushed. I have never stopped thinking about that sign but that’s fueled a quest to understand the power of the mind, body, and spirit. To understand how we accomplish things. To understand how we become better in the race against time and ourselves. Who am I? Southside Chicago kid. Young Father (20). Assembly line worker. Found 15 seconds between building cars to study. Graduated. Took 5 years. Created a few companies. Sold two. 800 employees. Created Refuel and Not Almost There to help others.

Episodes

Sunday Apr 04, 2021

Changing Your Perspective with IN-Q

Sunday Apr 04, 2021

🎤IN-Q is an award-winning poet, multi-platinum songwriter, and the best-selling author of Inquire Within. His groundbreaking achievements include being named to Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 list of the world’s most influential thought leaders and being featured on A&E, ESPN, and HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. He has written with renowned artists including Aloe Blacc, Miley Cyrus, Mike Posner, ZHU, and Foster the People. Nike, Instagram, Spotify, Google, Zappos, Lululemon, Live Nation, Shazam, The Grammy Foundation, and many more have brought IN-Q in to motivate their teams through his keynote performances and transformational storytelling workshops. Ultimately IN-Q writes to entertain, inspire, and challenge his audiences to look deeper into the human experience and ask questions about themselves, their environment, and the world at large.

→IN THIS EPISODE… Joe and In-Q discuss his monumental career; how he got started in the poetry and rapping world and he was able to gain understanding and inspiration from the community around him. He never allowed set back and adversity to hold him back, instead, it fueled his ability to channel his emotions through his poetry to make him the writing powerhouse he is today.

🔍 Breakdown with In-Q:

Chapter 1 (0:00) Introducing In-Q

Joe sets up the episode and introduces Q.

Chapter 2 (2:35) Performing “Say Yes”

Q beautifully performs a poem from his best selling book entitled, “Say Yes”

Chapter 3 (6:23) Background of writing

The struggle was what Q knew for the beginning of his career. Once he finally started to make a little money, he used it to travel and saying “yes” to life.

Chapter 4 (8:03) Looking back

Always follow your enthusiasm. Q followed his passion for freestyle hip-hop and rap and was his first form of meditation.

Chapter 5 11:48) Hip Hop inspiration

Nas and his album “Illmatic” and realized he was as close to God as he could get. His ultimate idol.

Chapter 6 (14:45) Father connection

If Q’s father was in the picture he feels things would be different, not sure for better or worse, but he feels grateful for his life journey, and wouldn’t change anything.

Chapter 7 (20:50) Poem closest to you

The piece that Q wrote about his father is closest to his core, but he favorite poem is his next one, he explains why.

Chapter 8 (22:18) How to slow down and enjoy

On a deeper level, during the covid pandemic, Q realized who you are is not what you do. They can be intertwined but they are also separate.

Chapter 9 (27:07) Life mentors and inspiration

Community. Q talks about earlier in the episode how his come up was through his hip hop community and that is who has inspired him. He also explains the hard work it takes to succeed.

Chapter 10 (33:20) The power of REFUEL

Joe and Q reflect on how messaging goes out in the world and how it can have a ripple effect.

Chapter 11 (38:32) Covid and our new reality

Q’s engagement happened during COVID, and he feels strongly to change the narrative. Nature has given us a time out to look back and reflect and come out better.

Chapter 12 (46:28) Story-telling workshops

Opportunity to give the gift that has been given to Q. Whether the workshop is virtual or live, Q opens up a community he felt like he was able to grow from early on in his career.

Chapter 13 (50:08) In-Q’s name origin story

When Q was fifteen a friend told him his name should be Inquiry because he also was asking questions in his wrap.

Chapter 14 (53:49) Get lost in something

We live in an age with the internet where mentors are just a click away. Make sure you take advantage of that.

Chapter 15 (56:47) Final poem, “Perspective”

In closing, In-Q performs “perspective”

Chapter 16 (58:29) In Closing

Joe wraps up this incredible episode

Material Referenced in this interview:

→IN-Q – Live at the Ace Theatre Amazon Prime Video

→https://in-q.com/inquirewithin/

→https://in-q.com/workshops/