Full Sail University Master Student (Entertainment Business) Linkedin.com/in/julianwilliams3
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Mastery Journal Program Reflection
Mastery Journal Program Reflection:
As my entertainment business master’s program ends at Full Sail University. My initial goal starting this program was to obtain as much knowledge as possible and further my education at Full Sail University. All the classes from Mastery, Digital Marketing and Brand Management has helped me push my business to the next level and become a better person overall. I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity and excited for what’s to come next in my journey as an entrepreneur.
A major takeaway I will always have in my forefront is to always stay focus and never doubt myself no matter what gets in my way. Easier said than done but allowing yourself to be vulnerable in certain situations and open to new creative ideas and expanding your mindset is key. My instructors have all been so unique and has helped me developed new strategies to apply to my life. Failing will always be a part of the process but allowing yourself to see through mistakes and take them as learning opportunities is vital. As I embark on my next journey, I’m eager to apply all my knowledge and continue to meet new people in the industry and build upon my portfolio with substance and experience.
Mastery: Personal Leadership and Development
Within the course of my journey here at Full Sail, I’ve connected with all our readings and Go to Sessions regarding my leadership style and elevating my professional strengths. Greene and Maxwell both discussed meaningful traits that I’ve adapted into my own career goals. Such as never making excuses and always be willing to empower others who are in your circle and be a teacher that will make a difference. I’ve always sometimes gotten comfortable in my ways when it comes to work habits, deadlines or even just personal things. I think learning to be in control of your goals and not getting lazy or lackluster is essential.
Another skill that applies to my leadership style is expressing gratitude amid adversity. I think it’s very important to be able to keep positive energy and you’re spirits up when faced with challenges or difficulties. I am a true believer of self-motivation and not complaining about things you can’t control. I’ve been faced many times in my personal and professional life with not feeling like I had all the tools to flourish in the music industry and not sure if I would make the right connections along the way to get to where I want to be, but I had to realize it’s all a process that has its own time.
As a leader it’s important to look at different perspectives and see viewpoints from whomever you’re working with and your own, which I’ve adapted into my own personal leadership style. Lastly, I’ve learned from Greene and Maxwell is to nurture your passion and exude that energy into your opportunities. Music has always been my passion and has always been where I felt I belonged and now I’m working towards exceeding my expectations and investing into my future.
Project and Team Management:
With Project and Team Management concluding, I can't help but to think about all the amazing things I was able to learn with this course. My biggest takeaways would be the importance of working effectively in a team and how to be a strong leader throughout your field of interest. With the music business being my focus and career path, this course gave me the knowledge I needed to plan out my official first project with my artist and be able to present it to future investors in a professional way. I also learned a lot about myself in this course when it comes to my personality traits and how I'm looked at by others which I thought was impactful. I’ve learned that I'm easy to pick up on the convictions, values, and worldviews of others and strive myself and others to unite the people around you in service of a higher ideal. Lastly, this course helped me see my influence the way I deal with people and the way I communicate and relate to others. I’ve really enjoyed this course and I'm excited for what's next in my degree program.
Business Storytelling & Brand Development:
As Business Storytelling & Brand Development ends, I look back and think about all the amazing knowledge and takeaways I got from this course. Starting out I wasn’t sure what exactly we would be discussing or what assignments might be about but I’m glad I went into this course with an open mind and ready to put my ideas for my personal brand and bring them to life. I’ve always had ideas on what exactly I wanted my brand to be and represent but never took those ideas and brought them to life until this course. I was able to really map out what was in my head and make a visual representation of my company and my brand.
My goal going into this course was to have something created for me to work upon continuously and build upon my idea of starting my company officially this year and giving it all I have. My favorite part about this course was the freedom I had to express my ideas and map out the exact messaging I wanted my company to convey. The entertainment industry has so many layers and so many over saturated parts so being able to create something from scratch and working upon it by figuring it out by target market, demographic, brand positioning was really liberating and inspiring.
This course gave me the tools necessary to progress my project and get a better understanding of building something completely new and dynamic. I’m eager to continue to enhance my brand and consistently apply new knowledge I learn throughout the rest of my program, I’m confident my goal to launch this year and take my ideas to the next level.
Entertainment Business Finance:
Upon entering this course, I was very hesitant due to not taking a finance course since undergrad. I was excited and eager to learn something new and tailor all the knowledge into my personal business ideas. Throughout the course I learned so much and got a real in-depth look at the financial statements, assets, depreciation. etc. Over the course of the entire four weeks we had a variety of financial cases and solved theoretical business scenarios. I personally enjoyed breaking down each case and analyzing cash flows and why things turned out the way they did. As someone who isn’t the most intuitive with math, I was extremely proud of how I was able to keep up with the assignments and understand what I was doing ultimately. My goal was to go into this class confident and ready for a new challenge, what made me so eager to jump outside my comfort zone was to think about my own business I want to build and how important the financial aspects applies.
As the course continued the very thing that I thought I wouldn’t comprehend, I did, and I was extremely proud of myself. Going into the Pro Forma Financial Statement I was extremely overwhelmed but having the guidance led by professor Christopher Woodward and the live sessions really helped me feel confident in the workload and gave me the push I needed not to give up.
While doing the final assignment I got to see my business laid out in a spreadsheet and it was extremely liberating to see everything broken down and see where all the financial components go and how successful I will be within my first year as a business owner. Overall, this class taught me so much and I’m grateful to receive all the knowledge I did throughout the last four weeks. I’m looking forward to the rest of my program and can’t wait to revisit my pro forma financial statement later.
Digital Marketing:
As the course Digital Marketing comes to a wrap, I’m very grateful to learn as much as I did and identify many things regarding my brand. I came into this class thinking it might be challenging and It would push me and my brand harder and help me pinpoint certain ideas and concepts. Now that we are near the end, I learned way more than I imagined and took away some great knowledge regarding digital marketing. My favorite part was the notion of KPI’s and measuring success of your business.
I think it’s extremely important to see the ROI and breakdown each goal and objective of your business. This course gave me the tools and helped me brainstorm how I want to measure my success and what targets I want to ultimately reach. I also enjoyed creating mockups for various concepts for my brand from my social media posts, networking event invitation, social campaign. Creating from scratch gave me a great visual into where I want my business to go and how I want it to relay to clients. Overall, having this course completed I got a full understanding of my business breakdown and where I see things going under my direction. Looking forward to the rest of my mastery journey.
Product and Artist Management:
After taking Product & Artist Management I learned so much creatively that I wasn’t initially expecting when I first started this course. This was by far my favorite course throughout my program at Full Sail. Each week I took away something different and discovered more about agencies, firms and best practices in relation to my own business.
I learned a lot about the type of leader I am and how to deal with certain clients I might come across like the momager, or the diva etc. I think it’s important to see how you can work with others who conduct business different from you and how your able to adapt and still get the job done especially when working with different personality types. Another takeaway I got from this course is keeping up with current events in the music industry.
We had various assignments that required lots of research and I learned a lot about current trends in the industry and how things are statistically proven and reported. I also learned how I will need to become more aware of music industry reviews from sites like Billboard, Social Blogs etc. The two assignments that I learned a lot from was the product planner assignment and the major players assignment both taught me a lot and challenged my way of thinking about the business and how to be strategic and master the tools of strategy.
The product planner assignment was a unique way to add additional layers to my business than just management, having a product line of some sort opens the door for more lucrative revenue and enables more growth for your artist. My favorite discussion question was week 4 were we had to watch a video with a few well-known panelists as they talk about their experiences within the industry and how social media is on the rise. I found the video super inspiring and it gave me some great ideas in relation to my own business. I’m happy I got to be a part of this course and learn everything I could from each week.
Advanced Entertainment Law:
After finishing Advanced Entertainment Law, I am leaving this course with so much knowledge and many takeaways. Starting this course, I wasn’t sure what exactly I would be learning or what assignments might be like, but I was motivated to make every week count and make the most of this course. Week 1 covered IP Protection and Industry Risks, I was really intrigued by the information and the importance of legal liabilities my company could face and legal liabilities I never knew existed.
The IP Audit assignment was one of my favorites due to the listing of items that I wanted to protect under my company and what meant most to me from a liability standpoint. Upon learning more about legal liabilities, I also enjoyed the case research we did throughout the course. Researching different court opinions and reading about different cases that deal with copyright infringement etc. really set the tone for me on how important it is to protect your business and make sure you are always in front of something.
Week 2 was another highlight for me throughout AEL. Case Research and Contract review was something I didn’t know much about until this course. Having substantial research skills is important in any field but I think primarily in entertainment its essential to know what’s going on and how you can stay ahead of the game. Looking at different court opinions was another highlight for me of this course. There were many cases I didn’t know anything about until our Research Paper Outline assignment.
I learned about cases I’ve never heard of before and after doing my research it left me excited to continue to learn as much as I can about liabilities etc. Overall, AEL was a challenge but I learned so much and I’m excited to apply this knowledge to my business and utilize all the skills I learned from the course to further my advancement in my field.
Entertainment Media Publishing:
As I wrap up my remaining courses for my graduation of my program. I am so thankful to have taken Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution. This course was a well needed steppingstone into my future in the entertainment business. I’ve learned so many things throughout this course that have inspired my work within my business and the many tools I wasn’t aware of previous such as distribution, creative agents etc. With my creative content being a reality series, I got so much insight to the process from a query letter to an agent that will pitch my project, also my TV treatment that will represent my series based on how I envisioned it and how I want others to view it.
Looking back on my original goals from this course, I was able to complete each one of my goals which were learning about different distribution models for various creatives. Also, I wanted to learn more about the publishing process and what goes into bringing content to life on different platforms we all use today frequently. I wasn’t sure at the beginning of this course if we would be creating our own press kits etc. I was very excited to create my own TV treatment for my reality series which inspired me to keep going and perfect it as much as possible.
Everything I learned from this class gave me more insight on how the industry operates and how technology is advancing in every way. I think with the industry being so competitive this course gave me the tools necessary to make sure my content was unique and has a purpose which I really enjoyed. Overall, I would recommend this class to future leaders so much great information surrounding the distribution process and running a business.
Negotiation & Deal-Making:
Throughout the Negotiation & Deal-Making course I have learned so much when it comes to the entire process within the entertainment industry. This course turned out to be everything I expected it to be. Going into this course I expected to learn more about different contracts I might face and how to role-play different scenarios. Our weekly worksheets helped me break down the material and help me understand what each term meant and what was going on in each mock situation.
Another takeaway, I got from this course was the importance of being prepared for a negotiation and always doing your research on the person you’re meeting with etc. I found myself observing more negotiations while being in this course and I always looked for if the person speaking was prepared and did, they have an agenda for the meeting. I think being a facilitator and a great listener is so essential and that’s what this course taught me. The assignments helped me map out how I would go into a negotiation and what I wouldn’t say even if it sounds like the right thing to say.
Another key point I learned from this course is to focus on the general problem at hand and not necessarily the people involved. I think it can be easy to be intimidated by someone with the commander approach but ultimately both parties involved have a problem to solve collectively. While at my current job at iHeartRadio I’m constantly negotiating and before this course I thought I was doing things correctly but once I got further into this course I started to see ways I could improve and enhance my skills and apply them to my day to day conversations. Overall, this course has been a wonderful experience and has been my favorite thus far throughout my program I’m excited for what’s to come in the remainder of my program.
Business Plan Development:
My original goals of (Business Plan Development) was to learn as much as I could about the entertainment industry and how to create a proper business plan that reflected my business AfterMelody Media Group. Initially, I thought we would take more of a creative approach with creating our business plans but each week I learned something new and gained new insight on how to properly present my business and showcase what I bring to the table.
All my goals I set for this class were met, by the ways of the industry tactics we tackled and the information we were given from financials etc. The Business Plan Assignments were very helpful to get me prepared to set up my business AfterMelody Media Group. This includes the initial pitch, market description, target market, industry trends, competition and differentiation, and the complete sales process of my business. The pitch is a good example to describe my business in an effective way, and it encompasses all the efforts my business will make to bring new artists to success.
When looking at my business plan I was able to accomplish so much but mostly being able to tackle harder questions I might get from investors when talking about financials, competition and how my business is different from what’s out there. This course gave me the confidence to speak with purpose about what my company represents and how I’m making an impact and a return on my investment. I’m grateful for the guidance of my instructor and all the information he spoke of during our Go-To sessions. Overall, I learned so much from the course and I’m going to take all the information that I’ve applied to my business plan and continue to build upon my business and make the most of new opportunities.
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4.3 Mastery Assignment (Business Plan Development)
My original goals of (Business Plan Development) was to learn as much as I could about the entertainment industry and how to create a proper business plan that reflected my business AfterMelody Media Group. Initially, I thought we would take more of a creative approach with creating our business plans but each week I learned something new and gained new insight on how to properly present my business and showcase what I bring to the table.
All my goals I set for this class were met, by the ways of the industry tactics we tackled and the information we were given from financials etc. The Business Plan Assignments were very helpful to get me prepared to set up my business AfterMelody Media Group. This includes the initial pitch, market description, target market, industry trends, competition and differentiation, and the complete sales process of my business. The pitch is a good example to describe my business in an effective way, and it encompasses all the efforts my business will make to bring new artists to success.
When looking at my business plan I was able to accomplish so much but mostly being able to tackle harder questions I might get from investors when talking about financials, competition and how my business is different from what’s out there. This course gave me the confidence to speak with purpose about what my company represents and how I’m making an impact and a return on my investment. I’m grateful for the guidance of my instructor and all the information he spoke of during our Go-To sessions. Overall, I learned so much from the course and I’m going to take all the information that I’ve applied to my business plan and continue to build upon my business and make the most of new opportunities.
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3.3 Reflection
Throughout the Negotiation & Deal-Making course I have learned so much when it comes to the entire process within the entertainment industry. This course turned out to be everything I expected it to be. Going into this course I expected to learn more about different contracts I might face and how to role-play different scenarios. Our weekly worksheets helped me break down the material and help me understand what each term meant and what was going on in each mock situation. Another takeaway, I got from this course was the importance of being prepared for a negotiation and always doing your research on the person you’re meeting with etc. I found myself observing more negotiations while being in this course and I always looked for if the person speaking was prepared and did, they have an agenda for the meeting. I think being a facilitator and a great listener is so essential and that’s what this course taught me. The assignments helped me map out how I would go into a negotiation and what I wouldn’t say even if it sounds like the right thing to say. Another key point I learned from this course is to focus on the general problem at hand and not necessarily the people involved. I think it can be easy to be intimidated by someone with the commander approach but ultimately both parties involved have a problem to solve collectively. While at my current job at iHeartRadio I’m constantly negotiating and before this course I thought I was doing things correctly but once I got further into this course I started to see ways I could improve and enhance my skills and apply them to my day to day conversations. Overall, this course has been a wonderful experience and has been my favorite thus far throughout my program I’m excited for what’s to come in the remainder of my program.
0 notes
Text
3.4 Mastery Journal
As I wrap up my remaining courses for my graduation of my program. I am so thankful to have taken Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution. This particular course was a well needed steppingstone into my future in the entertainment business. I’ve learned so many things throughout this course that have inspired my work within my business and the many tools I wasn’t aware of previous such as distribution, creative agents etc. With my creative content being a reality series, I got so much insight to the process from a query letter to an agent that will pitch my project, also my TV treatment that will represent my series based on how I envisioned it and how I want others to view it.
Looking back on my original goals from this course, I was able to complete each one of my goals which were learning about different distribution models for various creatives. Also, I wanted to learn more about the publishing process and what goes into bringing content to life on different platforms we all use today frequently. I wasn’t sure at the beginning of this course if we would be creating our own press kits etc. I was very excited to create my own TV treatment for my reality series which inspired me to keep going and perfect it as much as possible.
Everything I learned from this class gave me more insight on how the industry operates and how technology is advancing in every way. I think with the industry being so competitive this course gave me the tools necessary to make sure my content was unique and has a purpose which I really enjoyed. Overall, I would recommend this class to future leaders so much great information surrounding the distribution process and running a business.
0 notes
Text
AEL Mastery Journal
After finishing Advanced Entertainment Law, I am leaving this course with so much knowledge and many takeaways. Starting this course, I wasn’t sure what exactly I would be learning or what assignments might be like, but I was motivated to make every week count and make the most of this course. Week 1 covered IP Protection and Industry Risks, I was really intrigued by the information and the importance of legal liabilities my company could face and also legal liabilities I never knew existed.
The IP Audit assignment was one of my favorites due to the listing of items that I wanted to protect under my company and what meant most to me from a liability standpoint. Upon learning more about legal liabilities, I also enjoyed the case research we did throughout the course. Researching different court opinions and reading about different cases that deal with copyright infringement etc. really set the tone for me on how important it is to protect your business and make sure you are always in front of something.
Week 2 was another highlight for me throughout AEL. Case Research and Contract review was something I didn’t know much about until this course. Having substantial research skills is important in any field but I think primarily in entertainment its essential to know what’s going on and how you can stay ahead of the game. Looking at different court opinions was another highlight for me of this course. There were many cases I didn’t know anything about until our Research Paper Outline assignment. I learned about cases I’ve never heard of before and after doing my research it left me really excited to continue to learn as much as I can about liabilities etc. Overall, AEL was a challenge but I learned so much and I’m excited to apply this knowledge to my business and utilize all the skills I learned from the course to further my advancement in my field.
0 notes
Text
4.3 Mastery Journal (Product & Artist Management)
After taking Product & Artist Management I learned so much creatively that I wasn’t initially expecting when I first started this course. This was by far my favorite course throughout my program at Full Sail. Each week I took away something different and discovered more about agencies, firms and best practices in relation to my own business.
I learned a lot about the type of leader I am and how to deal with certain clients I might come across like the momager, or the diva etc. I think its important to see how you are able to work with others who conduct business different from you and how your able to adapt and still get the job done especially when working with different personality types. Another takeaway I got from this course is keeping up with current events in the music industry.
We had various assignments that required lots of research and I learned a lot about current trends in the industry and how things are statistically proven and reported. I also learned how I will need to become more aware of music industry reviews from sites like Billboard, Social Blogs etc. The two assignments that I learned a lot from was the product planner assignment and the major players assignment both taught me a lot and challenged my way of thinking about the business and how to be strategic and master the tools of strategy.
The product planner assignment was a unique way to add additional layers to my business than just management, having a product line of some sort opens the door for more lucrative revenue and enables more growth for your artist. My favorite discussion question was week 4 were we had to watch a video with a few well-known panelists as they talk about their experiences within the industry and how social media is on the rise. I found the video super inspiring and it gave me some great ideas in relation to my own business. I’m happy I got to be a part of this course and learn everything I could from each week.
0 notes
Text
4.4 Mastery Journal
As the course Digital Marketing comes to a wrap, I’m very grateful to learn as much as I did and identify many things regarding my brand. I came into this class thinking it might be challenging and It would push me and my brand harder and help me pinpoint certain ideas and concepts. Now that we are near the end, I learned way more than I imagined and took away some great knowledge in regard to digital marketing. My favorite part was the notion of KPI’s and measuring success of your business. I think it’s extremely important to see the ROI and breakdown each goal and objective of your business. This course gave me the tools and helped me brainstorm how I want to measure my success and what targets I want to ultimately reach. I also enjoyed creating mockups for various concepts for my brand from my social media posts, networking event invitation, social campaign. Creating from scratch gave me a great visual into where I want my business to go and how I want it to relay to clients. Overall, having this course completed I got a full understanding of my business breakdown and where I see things going under my direction. Looking forward to the rest of my mastery journey!
0 notes
Text
Mastery Journal: Entertainment Business Finance
Upon entering this course, I was very hesitant due to not taking a finance course since undergrad. I was excited and eager to learn something new and tailor all the knowledge into my personal business ideas. Throughout the course I learned so much and got a real in-depth look at the financial statements, assets, depreciation. etc. Over the course of the entire four weeks we had a variety of financial cases and solved theoretical business scenarios. I personally enjoyed breaking down each case and analyzing cash flows and why things turned out the way they did. As someone who isn’t the most intuitive with math, I was extremely proud of how I was able to keep up with the assignments and understand what I was doing ultimately. My goal was to go into this class confident and ready for a new challenge, what made me so eager to jump outside my comfort zone was to think about my own business I want to build and how important the financial aspects applies. As the course continued the very thing that I thought I wouldn’t comprehend, I did, and I was extremely proud of myself. Going into the Pro Forma Financial Statement I was extremely overwhelmed but having the guidance led by professor Christopher Woodward and the live sessions really helped me feel confident in the workload and gave me the push I needed not to give up. While doing the final assignment I got to see my business laid out in a spreadsheet and it was extremely liberating to see everything broken down and see where all the financial components go and how successful I will be within my first year as a business owner. Overall, this class taught me so much and I’m grateful to receive all the knowledge I did throughout the last four weeks. I’m looking forward to the rest of my program and can’t wait to revisit my pro forma financial statement later on.
0 notes
Text
5.1 Mastery Journal
As Business Storytelling & Brand Development comes to a close, I look back and think about all the amazing knowledge and takeaways I got from this course. Starting out I wasn’t sure what exactly we would be discussing or what assignments might be about but I’m glad I went into this course with an open mind and ready to put my ideas for my personal brand and bring them to life. I’ve always had ideas on what exactly I wanted my brand to be and represent but never took those ideas and brought them to life until this course. I was able to really map out what was in my head and make a visual representation of my company and my brand. My goal going into this course was to have something created for me to work upon continuously and build upon my idea of starting my company officially this year and giving it all I have. My favorite part about this course was the freedom I had to express my ideas and map out the exact messaging I wanted my company to convey. The entertainment industry has so many layers and so many over saturated parts so being able to create something from scratch and working upon it by figuring it out by target market, demographic, brand positioning was really liberating and inspiring. This course gave me the tools necessary to progress my project and get a better understanding of building something completely new and dynamic. I’m eager to continue to enhance my brand and consistently apply new knowledge I learn throughout the rest of my program, I’m confident my goal to launch this year and take my ideas to the next level.
0 notes
Text
4.6 Mastery Journal
With Project and Team Management coming to an end, I can't help but to think about all the amazing things I was able to learn with this course. My biggest takeaways would be the importance of working effectively in a team and how to be a strong leader throughout you're field of interest. With the music business being my main focus and career path, this course gave me the knowledge I needed to plan out my official first project with my artist and be able to present it to future investors in a professional way. I also learned a lot about myself in this course when it comes to my personality traits and how I'm looked at by others which I thought was really impactful. I’ve learned that I'm easy to pick up on the convictions, values, and world-views of others and strive myself and others to unite the people around you in service of a higher ideal. Lastly, this course helped me see my influence the way I deal with people and the way I communicate and relate to others. I’ve really enjoyed this course and I'm excited for what's next in my degree program.
0 notes
Text
3.4 Leadership Mastery Journal
Within the course of my journey here at Full Sail, I’ve connected with all of our readings and Go to Sessions in regard to my leadership style and elevating my professional strengths. Greene and Maxwell both discussed meaningful traits that I’ve adapted into my own career goals. Such as never making excuses and always be willing to empower others who are in your circle and be a teacher that will make a difference. I’ve always sometimes gotten comfortable in my ways when it comes to work habits, deadlines or even just personal things. I think learning to be in control of your goals and not getting lazy or lackluster is essential. Another skill that applies to my leadership style is expressing gratitude in the midst of adversity. I think it’s very important to be able to keep positive energy and you’re spirits up when faced with challenges or difficulties. I am a true believer of self-motivation and not complaining about things you can’t control. I’ve been faced many times in my personal and professional life with not feeling like I had all the tools to flourish in the music industry and not sure if I would make the right connections along the way to get to where I want to be, but I had to realize it’s all a process that has its own time. As a leader it’s important to look at different perspectives and see viewpoints from whomever you’re working with and your own, which I’ve adapted into my own personal leadership style. Lastly, I’ve learned from Greene and Maxwell is to nurture your passion and exude that energy into your opportunities. Music has always been my passion and has always been where I felt I belonged and now I’m working towards exceeding my expectations and investing into my future.
References:
Tumblr Link: https://jwillsocialfsu.tumblr.com/
Developing the Leader Within You
The 48 Laws of Power
Executive Leadership Law #1 (https://youtu.be/rkHW5XvSsDI)
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Weekly Inspirational Post:
I really enjoyed this video from one of my favorite artists Jay-Z. He really proves once you have DRIVE you can achieve what you believe, I never thought I could be so passionate about the music industry and want a career in this business, I was put down a lot of times, the key ultimately is to be PATIENT and respect the process
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJSez50iW4E
0 notes