Unleashing Potential: Jahmad Canley on Personal Growth, Mentorship and Inclusive Culture
Embark on a transformative journey with Jahmad Canley, a visionary whose life’s work is a testament to the power of unleashing potential. In a candid conversation, Jahmad delves into the essence of personal growth, the art of mentorship, and the crafting of an inclusive culture where every individual feels valued. He challenges us to confront our fears with a simple yet profound inquiry: “What’s the worst that can happen?” By daring to ask, we unlock the courage to venture beyond the familiar and embrace the risks that catalyze growth.
Jahmad’s narrative is a mosaic of influences—his parents, mentors, and leaders who have sculpted his path, instilling the wisdom that leadership is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. It’s about tailoring strategies to foster leadership and cultural metamorphosis, understanding that our adopted mindset is the cornerstone of personal triumph and organizational prosperity.
Jahmad's influence extends beyond his journey. He is a beacon for the youth, illuminating the path to their aspirations. He connects the dots between lifestyle dreams, educational pursuits, and career ambitions, empowering the next generation to chart a course toward their envisioned future.
The dialogue culminates with insights into Jahmad’s literary brainchild, ‘Idea: From Overcoming to Becoming.’ Here, he confronts the limitations of reach, expressing a yearning to touch more lives—a yearning answered by the written word’s enduring impact.
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Transcript
Well, welcome to How You Doing Today, my friend to the podcast.
Jahmad Canley (:Thank you so much. I'm doing well doing well. How are you?
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I'm doing good. It's good to have you on. I'm looking forward to this conversation. So.
Jahmad Canley (:Thank you, likewise.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Let's dive in and have some fun. So what's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Jahmad Canley (:best piece of advice that I've ever received. That is a hard question, Keith, but I would, I would go with one that I think has served me well is give it a try because what's the worst that can happen. And this was the piece of advice that really, really, really, really stuck with me. And that was to answer the question that most of the time we're like, what's the worst that can happen. But we stopped there. But.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Mmm.
Jahmad Canley (:Right. I was told to answer the question because it takes the fear out of it. And when you answer the question, you realize that in most cases, if you give it a try and it doesn't work out, the worst that will happen is that you end up in the same place where you are today. Right. But we often don't finish answering the question. We just go like, what's the worst that can happen? And we still feel all the fear and anxiety. So I would say that's a big piece of advice that I received that I try to share with my children and other people is like, hey, what's the worst that can happen? But let's not just stop there.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Thank you.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:answer the question, which is like, what's the worst that can happen if you still feel
Jahmad Canley (:Let's answer the question so you can mentally get it out of your head and get it on paper, whatever you need to do and realize, yeah, it's worth the risk, right? It's worth giving it a shot.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I always wished that there was a reset button in life. So if I answered a question wrongly, I could just reset and you forget like what they had before. Or like in Men in Black, I could take a little pin out and zap you. So whatever I just said, we could try that again. But you can't do that.
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah!
Jahmad Canley (:You
So true.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:You know, I'm curious, I looked at your bio and I was just so impressed with the work that you do and the people that you've worked with and what you've committed your time in your life to. But I'm curious, as you think about your life, who are some people who served as role models for you? Tell us what about them, made them role models and just kind of give them a shout out. Give you a chance to kind of thank people who've helped you on your journey.
Jahmad Canley (:yeah. Thank you so much for this opportunity. You know, first I would start with my parents, right? Because they were the day in, day out mentors, role models, coaches, guides, and parents, right? And what I mean by that is, you know, providing the discipline, but also providing the knowledge and the wisdom and most importantly, providing the love that gave me the confidence that I needed to do some of the things that I've wanted to do.
I always give a, excuse me, a shout out to a friend of mine, Corey Pittman, who was very transformational in my life. Unfortunately, Corey was murdered during his college years. And, you know, that had a huge impact on me because he was one of the first peers that I knew. My parents always spoke to me about success and higher ed, but Corey was the first peer that I knew who really, really, really said, Hey, like,
You need to take your education seriously. And when I was a freshman, he was a senior and he just took me under his wing and was always talking to me about, you know, taking the right steps and making the right decisions for your future. So Corey definitely. And then when I got into my professional world, and again, I, it's hard because I know I'm leaving so many people out aunts, uncles, and everyone, but just, if you're listening, auntie, uncles can't, can't name everyone right now, but.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right. Right.
Jahmad Canley (:You know, then I think about my professional life, right? And every supervisor that I've had, I still remain good friends with to this day because they, they taught me a lot and helped me a lot. One that was tremendously impactful was my mentor, Lou Tice. He's the founder of an organization called the Pacific Institute. And that's where I really got into the work of mindset and leadership and culture transformation and learned a lot from Lou.
And that's what really led me to start my own consulting firm.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:That's awesome. So I want to take us on a journey about your personal story, because you have an interesting background and the way you have poured into certain aspects, especially higher education, kind of tell us about what led you to what you do now and how you got there. Because I'm just curious, because usually along the way, there are moments, forks in the road that guide us down certain paths. So I'm just kind of always curious to find out my guess.
stories and the decisions they made and why they're doing what they do.
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah, thank you. So I'll kind of start here. I'll try to make it brief. But I struggled as a college student. So that's number one. And then when I say struggled, I mean, really struggled. It wasn't academic struggle. It was really about trying to learn this higher ed landscape, right? And all the things that come along with financial aid and, you know, just all these different things. So and then trying to balance time. All right.
wanting to be extremely social and make all the parties and hang out with all the people and date all the ladies and also balance that with trying to get the homework done in the academics. And what I found was there were people there who really went the extra mile for me to help guide me. But what I also realized is that that made me extremely lucky because I had.
a few people who were doing that, that it wasn't a part of the system. And that's when, again, I would say my mindset really started to shift and looking at systems, like why these systems of support that are supposed to be there, you're paying this money, you would expect to be there, really weren't there. As I was in, excuse me, as I was there, I began having these conversations with the professor. And when I first went to college, my goal was to never return back to my hometown.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:And that's when, again, I would say my mind set really started to shift and looking at systems and why these systems are so important that it's supposed to be there.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:As I was there, I began having these conversations with the professor. When I first went to college, my goal was to never return back to my home again. A lot of that had to do with as I've been.
Jahmad Canley (:And a lot of that had to do with, as I mentioned, the violence that I had experienced and that my peers had experienced during that time. And so it's like, you know, this is my ticket, I'm doing this. And once I graduate, I'm never going back. I'm going to start a career somewhere else in the country. And I had a really influential mentor there who really started to challenge me around this idea of, he would say, you know, I can hear in your voice and in your stories, how much you love your hometown.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I'm like, yeah, because you know.
Jahmad Canley (:And yet I always hear you say that you don't plan on going back. I'm like, yeah, no, I'm not going back. He said, but you, you love it. I'm like, well, yeah, because you know, we're so this and we're that, and we're authentic and the people are just, you know, it's like interesting. He said, have you ever thought that one of the reasons why your hometown may struggle the way it does is because when people like yourselves go off to get training or education or knowledge or wisdom, you don't return back home.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:So this and like that are more authentic and the people are just, you know, interested in that. Have you ever thought that one of the reasons why your hometown is struggling the way it does is because of the...
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:get trained or education or knowledge of wisdom. And then that's it.
Jahmad Canley (:And man, that hit me really tough. And so after that, I come back home and I started getting into different work around higher education and youth access. So running programs in high schools and helping students get into college and universities. And even during that time, what I started to realize again was the systems piece that was popping up. That got me really interested in the work of organizational development and really looking at.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:and access to programs in high schools and public schools, students in college and university. And you can do it that time.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:That got me really interested in the work of organizational development and really looking at how to break these cultures and these systems that, again, doesn't require the superhero all the time. Because the superhero is not always going to be there, but the superhero is going to need to take a day off, right? And the systems that were created actually support whoever we're trying to support. So I got really involved in the...
Jahmad Canley (:how do we create these cultures and these systems that, again, doesn't require the superhero all the time, because the superhero's not always gonna be there, or the superhero is gonna need to take a day off, right, and do the systems that we're creating actually support whoever we're trying to serve. So I got really involved in looking at those types of things. As I was doing that, I was introduced to the Pacific Institute.
And that really connected with another piece of my life that I had just began at that time, which was public speaking. And so a good friend of mine and myself, we started a public speaking company called 3E Motivations. Shout out to 3E Motivations, where we were traveling the country, speaking mostly to youth and speaking at youth conferences and really trying to help young people. Because again, we had just come out of college ourselves during that time. Again, that connected with this work that I
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:And that was connected with another piece of my life that I just.
that random mind and myself, we started a public speaking company called 3D Motivation, a startup 3D Motivation where we were traveling the country speaking mostly to youth and speaking at youth conferences and really trying to help young people because we can't believe this. Come out of college.
During that time, again, that connected with this work that I started to learn about doing. So after doing that work for several years, I started to notice that there was a gap. And that was the Civil Institute's wonderful work.
Jahmad Canley (:started to learn about through the Pacific Institute, which was really about mindset transformation and leadership and culture transformation. And from there, that's where I really launched into this career of consulting. And so after doing that work for several years, I started to notice that there was a gap and that was the Pacific Institute's wonderful work was video based curriculum and tremendous. I mean, talk about life changing curriculum and.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Sure.
Jahmad Canley (:It was, it was canned, if you will, right? Two day program, four day program. It wasn't dynamic to be able to adjust to the, the. In time needs of the clients. So one day I'm having a conversation with Lou Tice and I'm sharing with them that what I'm seeing and experiencing out in the, in the space is that people needed some customized work in addition to the, the two day video program. You know, some organizations work with really need to go deep on trust and communication.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I believe you.
Jahmad Canley (:Well, our curriculum just didn't allow for that. So I'm trying to convince him that this is the work we should do. And he sits back and he says, I believe you. I'm like, what are you? Okay, great. Very egos. And I have no interest in doing that.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:And I have no idea what to do next.
Jahmad Canley (:It's so I'm confused Keith, right? Like what do you believe me? But you have no interest in doing that. And he says, yeah, you know, this is my business model. This has been very successful for me for 40 years and I have no interest on changing the business business model, but I think this is a great opportunity for you. And that was really the encouragement and the push that I needed. And so I started potential unleashed consulting and.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:you
Jahmad Canley (:we really focused on again, the customized approach to leadership, transformation and culture transformation and diversity, equity, inclusion. When I first started off with Potential Unleashed, my goal was really just focus on leadership and culture. And quickly I was brought back full circle to my time in college and realizing that if organizations wanna have really strong cultures, the strongest culture that they can recreate is a high performing culture of belonging.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:want to have really strong cultures, the strongest culture that they can integrate in a high performing culture belongs to them, right? And that that only happens through leadership.
Jahmad Canley (:Right. And that that only happens through good leadership. And so the three to me, when I think about those three things, I don't see them as separate. I don't see them as binary. I see them really, again, as this collection of strong leaders build strong cultures and a strong culture is a culture that is a culture of belonging where everyone believes that they could bring their best. Everyone feels like they're in a space where they belong and
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:to me when I think about those three things. I don't see them separate.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:So we would see these cultures, these organizations, I had the opportunity to work with some amazing organizations and it was interesting because when you would dig deeper, let's say 93 % of the people loved, loved, loved the organization, loved the culture. It's the best place in the world to work. I was always interested in, yes, that's awesome. And I wanna talk to the 7%. And I wanted to know why weren't they experiencing the culture like everyone else. And it was interesting because when I would start to do that work.
I quickly found out that so often the 7 % looked the same or came from similar backgrounds. And it was often, again, women or people of color or people who had some type of disability. They were the people who weren't experiencing the culture like everyone else. And so that's really kind of how I came to this place.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:So often the 7 % look the same or came from similar backgrounds and it was often again, you know, women or people of color or people.
They were the people who wanted experiences of culture.
That's awesome. I want to jump back on something you talked about because I just finished a degree in organizational change. And so that's always been one of the things that really hits me really home because I work with, I think a lot of times culture that's organizations that are dysfunction that could be better than they are. And you talked about higher education. I spent most of my church ministry with elementary schools.
and dealing with the education system before college. And then I started dealing with a little bit about high school when my son was in high school. And they kept asking me the question, because being an African -American, they'd hold these college preparatory classes. It's like, why are not more African -American parents in this college prep class? I'm like, because they didn't go to college. I mean, not none of them did, but most of them didn't. And don't understand what you just talked about, the higher education.
Jahmad Canley (:huh.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:jump the fact that there's a disconnect between how you prepare for college and high school and get to college and succeed. And for me, it started even before you got to high school. It started in elementary school. How do you prepare kids for high school and elementary school? Because when I talked to some of the kids, and I was in urban areas too, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and I'd ask the kids, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah.
Jahmad Canley (:Yes.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:And I remember one girl said to me, I just want to be a video dancer. I'm like, a video? You mean like the girl who dances on Drake's video? Yeah, I like that. I'm like, that's no career for you. First of all, I don't sure you could dance that well. And second of all, there's no lifelong wealth in that. So how do you, as you talk about going back to your home and dealing with the violence, how do you begin to shift that culture to prepare the kids to say, yes, I have...
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah. Yeah.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:the aspiration and dream for higher education.
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah. So one of the things that I stopped doing, so thank you for that question. I get this question a lot when I'm talking to parents, especially, and also educators. And part of that is I stopped asking kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. Because what I found out is that most of us will only answer based off of what we've been exposed to, right? When you get, you know, doctor, lawyer, you know, athlete, entertainer, that's pretty much it.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:What I do for a living, I did not, I could not have answered this question when I was 18, 19 or 20, right? Because I didn't even know that this existed. You know what I mean? Like what? You get to talk to people for a living. Like, that's, you know, it helped people solve problems. I didn't know that was something, you know, now there's shows out there about consultants and stuff like that. But back then, right, I didn't know anyone. So here's what I do. I start off by asking them to envision their life at 25.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:And I just asked him certain questions. Where do you see yourself living? And I go deep, right? Are you in an apartment? Are you in a condo? Are you in a house? Are you still at home with your folks? Do you have roommates? You know, like, what does this look like for you? Do you see yourself married? Do you see yourself in a relationship? Do you see yourself, you know, living with three other people? Are you living by yourself? You know.
And I just start walking them backwards to tell me what type of job you have. Like, how are you living? You know, do you have a career that you love and enjoy? Is it a job that's just paying the bills? You know, what are you doing? I asked him about transportation. How do you get back and forth to the places that you want to go? Are you driving a car? Are you, you know, using public transportation? And again, there's no shame or judgment in any of these answers, because if you pick New York, you know, you might be walking or using public transportation. So.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:And you're probably going to have much higher rent, right? So, you know, I tell them like there's no judgment on this. You might be living in an apartment, but you're living in New York City, a place that you always wanted to live and you know, and you don't own a car, but it would be foolish for you to own a car. But here's the key is that after they create this picture and they tell me what it looks like, I asked them the question, can you tell me how you got here?
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Hmm.
Jahmad Canley (:and I have no work backwards.
And that's when they start making these connections for themselves. A 17 year old doesn't really want to do homework, right? Like that's not what they want to do. 17 year old Jemad can, we didn't want to do homework, but when I can work it backwards and I recognize that me doing this assignment increases the likelihood that I'll get into the college that I desire. And I don't even really want to go to college per se, but college will better my chances and my likelihood to get the career that I desire.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I'm sorry.
Jahmad Canley (:which is really all about me getting the lifestyle that I desire. I'm going to turn in this assignment and what I find that we often don't do is help kids really make those connections. And so the assignment becomes just about the assignment and I don't want to do the assignment. It's beautiful outside. I want to go do this. I want to do that, right? You know, those types of things. So that's, that's what I learned to do was to stop asking kids, what do you want to be? But started asking them, what do you want that lifestyle to look like? And again,
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:is to make those connections. And so the assignment comes to...
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:And they're because they're dealing with so much, right? They've got social media. They've got all these different things that they're looking at. So I know some people who I would call young people, but you know, they're they're young adults. They're 30 and under. And their lifestyle looks so different than what I would have envisioned for myself at that age because they're exposed to more. So for them, it's about, you know, four vacations a year. I'm like, whoa, like four vacations a year. You know what I mean?
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:for vacations a year. More vacations a year. You know what I mean?
Jahmad Canley (:But I could think about the years keep that vacations weren't even it was a dream, right? Like that'd be nice to go on a vacation But you know, I'll take this three -day weekend and you know, we'll do something I mean and they're going to Tulum and they're going to you know Jamaica they're going to Greece and they're going to you know, Morocco it and that's the lifestyle that they wanted to create for themselves and I
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Exactly.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:You know, Morocco, and that's the lifestyle that they wanted to create for themselves. And again, that's not for me to judge. That's the random class of the industries in the world. But they look at it through a different lens, right? And so for the young people, I think that's what...
Jahmad Canley (:Again, that's not for me to judge. That's great. I'm glad that they're experiencing the world. But they look at it through a different lens, right? And so for the young people, I think that's what the conversation is. It's not about going to school to get good grades so that you get into a college so that you can go find a job and work there for the rest of your life. That just does not resonate with a lot of young people today.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:So that you can get into a college so that you can go find a job and work in the work.
Jahmad Canley (:But when you ask them, like, what does that lifestyle look like when you're 25 and you're 30? Are you traveling? Where are you going? Again, are you driving a scooter? Are you driving a car? What does that look like for you? And you ask them the question, tell me how you're getting there, right? That's the piece that I think resonates well with them.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:So, the question, tell me how you're getting there.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:That's great, because it really leads me into your book, because you just talked about creating the idea. So tell us what led you to write the book, Idea From Overcoming to Becoming.
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah. So what led me to write the book? Frustration. And when I say frustration, this might sound weird. Frustration with myself. And here's what I mean. I have long struggled with a push and pull mentality and
I do the work that I do not because I desire to be famous or be a celebrity. I do the work that I do because I desire to be effective in what I believe I'm called to do, which is to help people really unleash and fulfill their potential, which is why I named our company that. And so I've always strived to be the best and most effective at that, right? It's helping people and that's, again, if this is the calling that you're gonna have.
I'm just firmly whatever it is that you're doing that you choose to do, do it to the best of your ability. With that, because I actually have an adverse reaction to popularity or celebrity and stuff like that. That's why I say it's been a push pull, right? And so one day I'm talking with a friend of mine and he says, well, you know, you should write a book.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:So one day I'm talking with a friend of mine. And he said, well, you know you should write a book.
Jahmad Canley (:And I said, no, no, no, don't want to do that. Right. No, no. You know, then it's book signings and all. And I'm OK. Right. Not going to do that. And time goes by about a year or so goes by and we're having lunch again. And he he's asking me, you know, so what's your your biggest frustration right now? And I said, well, when I speak, I'm frustrated that after my speech,
I can't get to all the people who want to get to me. And he says, right, he says, I've been with you multiple times and I've seen, you know, you try to, I mean, and that's just a part of who I am, right? When I speak and after I come off the stage, there's only a line of people who are waiting to speak to me. And, and, you know, if I can, I will stay and speak to every single one, right? Because.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:And he says, right, since I've been with you multiple times and I've seen you try to, and that's just a part of who I am, right, when I speak. And after I come off the stage, there's only a line of people who are waiting to speak to me. And if I can, I will stay and speak to every single one of you.
Jahmad Canley (:That's what drives me is again, not the standing ovation, but the fact that people really want to implement something that I just talked about. So I want to give them that. He just said to me, Jemad, you are never going to be able to speak to every person. And I said, yeah, I know I get that. He said, but that's your frustration. He said, I see it in you. He said, you know, you'll stay an extra hour and a half after your speech, just talking to people because you want to try to.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:That's what drives me is, not the standing ovation, but the fact that people really want to implement something that I just talked about. So I want to give them that. He just said to me, you are never going to be able to see every person.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:You can put a book in a lot more hair.
Jahmad Canley (:cram all of this information in. He said, you realize if you had a book, you could put something in their hands and you can put a book in a lot more hands of people than you can having a one -on -one conversation. And so honestly, Keith, that's what led me to write the book was that conversation. And I was so mad at him, right? When he said that, because I didn't want to write a book, right? When he said like, hey, you're the one who said that you want to reach people. You're the one who said you want to help people change their lives.
You're the one who said you're frustrated that you don't have enough time, right? Right. You can only speak so many places and you can only, you know, again, read so many people through that. But, hey, he was like, don't be mad at me. You don't be mad at yourself. This is what you said you wanted. And so that's what led me to write the book was I wanted to provide a guide for people that one, I may never get a chance to speak in front of or two, even in a 45 or 50 minute keynote.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I can't reach so many people through that, but hey, don't be mad at me. Be mad at yourself. This is what I say. You want it. And so that's what led me to write the book, was I wanted to provide a dive for people that...
One, I may never get a chance to speak in front of, or two, even in a 45 or 50 minute keynote, keynote you can give them a piece, right? But how do I give them something that they can take and really get back to their lives? So that's what left me divided. That's why I chose the way that I did. People, I've seen so many emails that have been, you know,
Jahmad Canley (:You know, you can give people a piece, right? But how do I give them something that they can take and really apply to their lives? So that's that's what led me to write it. That's why I structured the book the way that I did. People I've received so many emails and messages from people are like, I love the book. I finished the whole book because that was by design. It's the reason why I self published because initially a lot of publishers wanted to pick up the book. I didn't realize this, but they were like, you're a rare find in the fact that you not only are.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:Author but you speak and that for them was a very attractive thing because again I didn't realize that they said most authors are very much introverted They're like so it makes it hard to sell a book because it's hard to put an introvert on the speaking to a write a book to her They're like, but this is perfect. The problem was they wanted me to write a book. That was not the book that Right, you know put this in it put fat in it or you know, I
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Okay.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Okay.
Jahmad Canley (:this should be, you know, so many pages. My goal was I wanted to put a book in people's hands that I knew that they could finish. I said from the beginning, this book will be no more than 100 pages. well, research says that, you know, books that are between 150 and 220 sell best. OK, thank you for that information. And this book will never be more than 100 pages. I'll never write a book that's more than 100 pages because my.
Bookshelf is full of books that I got pretty far into, but didn't complete, you know, but I found some good nuggets in the first five or six chapters and then I was reading the next book, right? So I wanted people to be able to finish the book because the book really serves not just as a book, but the way that I wrote it and designed it, it serves as a guide, if you will, where they are answering questions as they move along.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:to really create this blueprint, if you will, for their ideal picture. So that's what led me to write the book and to write it the way I did.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I love that. And your book, you break it into three parts, thinking and ideas, breaking barriers that prevent you from achieving your ideas and closing it out with realizing your idea outcome. So kind of walk us through that concept of when someone reads this book, you're helping them move from the idea.
to actual implementation of the idea. So kind of walk us through kind of your overall arching thought about that.
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah, I'm not. So I mentioned that I, you know, public speak and I am not a big fan of motivational speakers. Right. So maybe that's what has helped me in my career because, you know, someone hopping up on stage and telling me here are the three things that you need to do to change your life is great. But we'll have another speaker in next year doing the same thing. Right. So.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:So that's why, you know, getting the book is designed the way that it is. First, the first third of the book is about why it's important to think in these ideals, right? And so I'm explaining the research behind it because all of it is based off of cognitive science, brain research and how we think as human beings. And so helping people understand those pieces. Then the second part is really, again, removing those barriers they get in the way. One of my favorite chapters in the book is chapter five, where I talk about fear because fear is such a.
powerful barrier and I think it's key for people to understand not to just say you need to remove fear but to give people tangible steps and processes on how to do that. Right. So like in Chapter five not only do we talk about fear but I talk about breaking fear down. I tell the story of one of my friends who wanted to go back to college and.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:and barriers. And I think it's key for people to understand, not to just say, you need to remove fear, but to get some of the tangible steps and processes on how to do that.
So like in chapter five, not only did we talk about fear, but I talk about breaking fear again. I tell the story of one of my friends who wanted to go back to college, but kept saying, you know, I just don't think I'll be able to do it, I'm afraid. He wasn't using the words, I'm afraid, but everything that they were saying was that they were afraid. And we've been talking about this goal for years, and finally one day we're at a barbecue at my home and he brings it up.
Jahmad Canley (:but kept saying, you know, I just don't think I'll be able to do it. I'm afraid, you know, wasn't using the words I'm afraid, but was everything that they were saying was that they were afraid and have been talking about this goal for years. And finally, one day we're at a barbecue at my home and he brings it up again. And I said, well, you know, like, Hey, why don't you take the step? And now, you know, I just, I don't think I'm ready for college, right? I don't think, I don't think I'm ready to go back. I've been out of school for all these years. I don't think I'm ready to go back and, you know, want to go back to get his master's degree.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I don't think I'm ready to go back. I've been out of school for all these years. I don't think I'm ready to go back. I don't want to go back.
When I finally ask the question, what part about it is causing you the anxiety or the hesitation? What we found out was it was the writing aspect. It definitely was programmed to be a lot of writing and even those are strong.
Jahmad Canley (:And then when I finally asked the question, what part about it is causing you the anxiety or the hesitation? What we found out was it was the writing aspect. He had heard that for this master's program, it was going to be a lot of writing and he didn't feel he was a strong writer. But Keith, that's different than college is going to be too hard.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:that's different than college is going to be too hard. Right, exactly.
Jahmad Canley (:Because now when we pinpoint writing, it was like, man, there's all types of things that we can do to support you in that. Right. You can even take some courses at the community college to strengthen your writing before you go back to get your master's degree. But fear wants to appear so large. Right. It attaches itself to the same because when you just think, college is scary. Well, that's huge. That's massive.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:and you can even take some courses at the community college to strengthen your writing before you go back to get your math degree. But fear wants to appear so large, right, and it's attacking itself to this point. You just think, college is scary, but that's huge, that's natural.
So when you say, I'm actually fearful about the writing aspect of college, we can get really strategic around that. But that's what part two really dives into, is really helping people overcome some of their errors. And then part three, again, is about, OK, now let's create for you, what is your ideal for your family, for your community, for your church, for your health, for your business? What is the ideal picture? And let us share with you the improvement strategy that we have.
Jahmad Canley (:But when you say, I'm actually fearful about the writing aspect of college, we could get really strategic around that. So that's what part two really dives into is really helping people overcome some of those barriers. And then part three, again, is about, OK, now let's create for you, what is your ideal for your family, for your community, for your church, for your health, for your business? What is the ideal picture? And let us share with you proven strategies that.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:people, teams, and organizations for years when they decided this is what we want, actually move towards that and get that right and to fire those things that they're actually designing, that life that they're designing. So that's how the book is broken down in those three steps. So again, people are working through these different things as they're moving through the book. Because I didn't want to just put another really good motivational book and put some really good theory. I just wanted people to really lock out of it.
Jahmad Canley (:have helped people, teams, and organizations for years when they've decided this is what we want, actually move towards that and get that, right? And to acquire those things that they're actually desiring, that life that they're desiring. So that's how the book is broken down in those three steps. So again, people are working through these different things as they're moving through the book, because I didn't want to just put another really good motivational book in someone's hand with some really good theories. I wanted people to really walk out of there.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Wow, that's amazing. No, I love that story because I remember, let's stop before going back to my higher degree was there's a lot of reading to do. Usually I'll start reading a book and then the book is on my lap and I'm asleep. So doing a higher degree means lots of reading, but you get over that fear you talk about and you can really see what.
Jahmad Canley (:Saying and thinking and I can do this but then coming back later on and saying not only could I do this but I did this I Did this?
Jahmad Canley (:Mm -hmm.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:You can go farther than you think you can go once you deal with some of the issues that are holding you back.
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, think about it, even with the use of technology, right? I mean, the audio books and all these different things, like when the person pinpoints, it's the reading aspect, you know, we help people break that down. Well, yeah, because most of us were taught and raised that the way that you read is you sit down and you hammer through this book for three hours at a time. Right. Versus how do you get in two hours of reading a day? How do you do 15 minutes, you know, you know, in the morning?
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:How do you listen to part of it on audio book on your drive into work? How do you knock out another 30 minutes during lunch? And where are you keeping your notes and all those things? And then how do you do another 30 minutes after dinner? And now all of a sudden you've put together two hours of reading a day, but my goodness, the way that we were raised was you got to sit down at that table and knock out those two hours of reading. Like you said, 45 minutes in, I'm like you, I'm knocked out.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I'm out.
Jahmad Canley (:I keep going I've read this page four times now because every time I wake up I go back in I Know this page well, though Keith this page. I know well It seems familiar
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:That's right. And you have those page nightmares. It's like horrible. Yeah. my. So I'm curious. You got this book going on. You got all the things you're doing in your career. What are you most excited about in this season of your life?
Jahmad Canley (:Hmm a few things one thing is Well, I'll go I'll go personal if that's okay first one of the things that I'm really excited about in this season is Really watching my children, you know and my so my children have four children and rage they Huge range in age, right? So 13 to 4
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Sure.
Jahmad Canley (:And so watching them at the different levels, watching the older ones who are now utilizing the things that we've tried to help them with. And so watching them use reasoning and, you know, and try things and, you know, step into uncomfortable situations. That's extremely exciting for me watching the younger ones also, right. As they're starting to move into school now and all those things. So that's, that's really exciting for me just to see this.
Because every time that we've we've had a child. It's it's almost like what you said earlier, it's almost like hitting the reset button in the sense of. Huh? Let me try this a little bit different with this one, right? Like I wish I did say that to the other one to the older ones without baby. I'll try it a little bit different with this one, you know, because children allow me personally speak for myself.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:every time that.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:they allow me to stay in this space of remembering that they're seeing the world for the first time. And it gives me the sense of hope because there's a sense of purity of, right, there's, there's no bias, you know, there, there's none of this jadedness that sometimes happens with, you know, experience that they're experiencing the world for the first time. Their questions are,
pure curiosity because they're trying to acquire knowledge and wisdom. They're not setting you up for, you know, asking you a question to set you up for this other thing. It's just, they want to know like, why is the grass green? You know what I mean? And why can't I eat it? You know, it looks like the lettuce that we eat for dinner. I don't understand. Right. So I'm excited about that because family for me is so important. And, you know, I've been blessed to have just a amazing, wonderful wife who,
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:Not only my wife, but my best friend. So I'm excited about that. You know, just the continuous journey of the family. professionally, what I'm excited about is.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:the scene at our firm, the innovation, the great ideas, and the way that they are constantly pushing me for it and pushing for, in order to make some more, pushing the workforce. I'm really excited about that. I'm not the biggest adopter of technology. And...
Jahmad Canley (:the team at our firm, the innovation, the great ideas and the way that they are constantly pushing me forward and pushing the organization forward, pushing the work forward. I'm really excited about that. I'm not the biggest adopter of technology and they're keeping me excited about technology, right? When all this AI stuff.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
Jahmad Canley (:first came out, I'm like, this is no, like, right. Like, this is going to be, you know, horrible and everything else. And I'm excited because they are constantly showing me new ways that we can use these things to make the world better and to use it for good. And it's like anything, right. You know, I see the sword above your, your bookshelf there and. You know, it's, it's not about the tool. It's about the hands that it's in and the purpose in which a person wants to use it. Right.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:All right.
Jahmad Canley (:to protect and build beautiful things or to be destructive. And so I'm excited that again, they're keeping me very optimistic on how these technological tools can be used for building beautiful things that really help the world. So I'm excited about that. And I can tell you nine months ago, that would not have been my answer. I would not have said like technology and AI. I was like, this, we need to stop this now.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:were to distract him. So I'm excited that he's very optimistic on it.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Nine months ago, that would not have been my birthday.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right, exactly.
Jahmad Canley (:How do we get ahead of this? Haven't we all seen, you know, Judgment Day and Terminator? Right. We've seen The Matrix with how many movies people have. So, yeah, that's what those are the things I'm excited about. Again, you know, watching this family continue to grow and the kids really step into their own. And then on the professional side, again, watching that family continue to grow and so we can help more people help more organizations.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:We've all seen i we also iRobot yeah
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:When do we get the message?
Jahmad Canley (:they can reach their potential.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:You sort of tapped into it, but you just kind of honed in a little bit more. My favorite question I ask my guests is this one. What do you want your legacy to be?
Jahmad Canley (:I want my legacy to be that.
Jahmad Canley (:I gave people the best of me. I want my children to know that though I...
I work with people all over the country. I want them to know that they get the best of me. And that from the very beginning, I shared, when I was sharing this vision with my wife, I said, I will not sacrifice my family for this career. And so I want that to be a part of my legacy. Even more than that, I also want to help produce great human beings into the world.
Right. My children are my legacy. So that's a huge part of that. You know, when I get the notes, yes, my children thrive academically and that's wonderful. But when I get the notes about their kindness or their bravery, or when they correct, they have the, the, not only the bravery, but also the grace to correct a teacher who is using language or terminology that might be harmful.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:not only the bravery but also the grace to direct a future to achieve the language and terminology that might be helpful. Those are the things I like to think about. Right. Right.
Jahmad Canley (:Like those are the things I'm like, yes, right? Like that's a part of my legacy because they'll move forward with that. And then I also want my legacy to be that I helped as many people as I possibly could. That I helped them fulfill their life potential, you know, the best that I could.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:of it.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:That's great. As you wrap up our conversation, what are some key takeaways you'd like our listeners to remember from our discussion today?
Jahmad Canley (:Hmm.
Jahmad Canley (:I would say to not stop at the dreaming part, right? So this is whether you are the CEO of an organization, whether you are a parent, whether you're a baseball coach, whether you're a kid who's listening, the dream part is extremely important. We need that picture. And I find that so many people stop at just the dreaming. You know, one of the things I talk to people about in my own children is manifestation.
I want people to know that the things that pop into your head, you can actually manifest. You and I are sitting on furniture that started off as someone's idea, but they didn't stop at the idea, right? They manifested it. The bookshelves behind you, the paintings behind me, everything that we look at, it's a manifestation of someone's dream, someone's idea that they had. And so I want people to know that they have the ability to manifest those things. So.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:that we look at is a manifestation of someone's dream, someone's idea that they had.
Jahmad Canley (:Not to stop at the dream. I talked to a lot of leaders who tell me what their dream is, but for some reason or another, and I have to know what they are, but for some reason or another, they've allowed themselves to stop dreaming and they've just now are managing, right? It's like, I would love to do this, but you know, well, no, let's go back to that because that's what gets you up in the morning. That's what's going to get you to show up differently. That's what's going to excite you. That's what keeps you up at night, you know, thinking about like, how can you better do this? But.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Hmm.
Jahmad Canley (:yeah, but I, you know, that would be my dream, but that's not how I think people should live their lives. Right. Go after your dream. Know that you have everything in you to help manifest it. And we rarely are going to do it alone on our, on our own. Right. So you find the people around you, you'll find the resources, you'll find the network, you'll collaborate, but know that again, that that's in you. And the reason why I say that.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Right.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Thank you.
you rarely are going to do it on your own, right? So you find the people around you, you'll find the resources, you'll find the resources.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:say that.
Jahmad Canley (:Keith, as I close, is years ago, my wife asked me, what is motivating you? Why is this so important to you to help people with this piece? And I said to her, I truly believe that there's someone out there who has answers to some of our biggest problems. Cure for cancer, energy crisis, you name it.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:that and there's someone out there who has.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:answer energy crisis. But it's an idea in their head and if they don't believe in themselves and they don't believe that they can actually manifest it, it will remain right there. And the world suffers as a result. And in the work that I can do, I can get people the tools and the confidence to say I can actually start working towards this goal. Then again, I think it's a little bit of a waste of time.
Jahmad Canley (:but it's an idea in their head. And if they don't believe in themselves and they don't believe that they can actually manifest it, it will remain right there. And the world suffers as a result. If in the work that I can do, I can give people the tools and equip them and the confidence to say, I can actually start working towards this goal. Then again, I think it's a life well lived.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:I love that. So where can people find your book, Ideal, From Overcoming to Becoming, and learn more about you and follow you on social media?
Jahmad Canley (:Yeah, thanks Keith. So ideal you can find on our website. It's www .potential -unleashed .com backslash store. So if you just go to our website, you'll find it there. You can also find it on Amazon as well. So just type in ideal and can lean it'll pop up. And the second part of the question was. yeah, thank you. So I'm on LinkedIn. I'm.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Where can they find you on social media?
Jahmad Canley (:On Instagram, though I don't know much about Instagram. I'm there and the team is there, right? So the team is like we have to be on Instagram like, OK, so Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or the social media accounts that I'm on again. I know that I'm on Instagram, but I'll just tell you I don't spend much time there. But the way that the team has it all set up, you know everything is linked, but LinkedIn and Facebook are.
where I respond mostly to questions or messages that come in and stuff like that.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:when you break out your running man video can be on TikTok.
Jahmad Canley (:Yes, yes. But I don't think they're ready for that. You know, I don't know if they're ready. You know.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Yeah, it may not be, you know, break out the full Conley move that MC Conley. Well, thank you so much for this great conversation and blessings on the work that you do. It's so important. And the book that you wrote to help people take those ideas that they're dreaming, thinking about and
Jahmad Canley (:I, you know, I, yeah, I mean, I stay ready, you know?
Jahmad Canley (:Thank you.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:putting them in action and manifest them into ideas that the world benefits from because those ideas come out.
Jahmad Canley (:Thank you so much, Keith. Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for, again, creating this space for people to come and share ideas and have a conversation. And I really appreciate the invite and the conversation. So thank you so much.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:Blessings anytime, my friend.
Jahmad Canley (:All right, thank you.
of Becoming Bridge Builders (:you
