MANdatory Awareness: Joseph Ward

Joseph Ward is the founder of Live Skilled Live Fulfilled, a life skills training and sexual and domestic violence Prevention Company. He has dedicated himself to studying the history and the culture of the African diaspora. His studies have led to founding On the Shoulders of Giants, Inc., authoring On the Shoulders of Giants Vol: 1 North America, and On the Shoulders of Giants Vol: 2 Central America. The Florida A&M University graduate is also the host of The Fix Sports Podcast, co-host The Freedom Train Podcast Series, and co-founder of the Freedom Train Network. Discover more about Joseph and why he’s so passionate about his work below.

Fancy: How would you describe your swagger?  What makes Joseph, Joseph?

Joseph: My swagger is more of a nostalgic confidence your cool grandfather would have had with a new school twist. What makes me is my ability to accomplish my goals and being an asset to my community. I believe in myself and I know if I continue believing in myself I will reach all of my goals. Swag to me is confidence in myself, my knowing that I am great and no limits are placed upon me. Joseph is Joseph, because I know I have the ability to do what I put my mind too.

Fancy: What sparked your interest in psychology and why not history?

Joseph: Honestly, my interest in psychology was sparked a bit after the history spark. I have always had an interest in history but I kind of let my father talk me out of majoring in history. When I got to college I really didn’t know what I wanted to major in before I learned about the psychology program. The psychology program at Florida A&M University is pro-black and it infuses history and psychology. So I had a chance to learn both subjects in one major; there is a history and psychology behind everything we do. I fell in love with psychology, because I was able to learn it from a black perspective; I also learned how psychology was used as a tool to further white supremacy and oppression. Those lessons made me want to know as much as I could about psychology so I could tell Black people what is going on around us.

Fancy: What does your Academic Success presentations consist of?

Joseph: When conducting my academic success presentations I like to focus on the subject that I am familiar with. My main topics of discussion are African history, sexual/domestic violence prevention, HIV/AIDS education and prevention within the Black community, healthy relationships, and life skills. I do my best to tailor my presentation to the needs of the audience I am presenting to. I do my best to know my audience so I can give them the best experience. I like interaction but I can also run my mouth for hours, lol. We know that everyone learns different, so I try to have different elements within my presentations. I like for my audience to be a part of the lesson as well as be open to receiving my information. If you don’t have a connection with your audience, then you are just talking at them and not helping them.

Fancy: Many of us enjoy history and learning more about our culture, but what made you delve you so deeply into the African diaspora and why do you find it important to share these stories?

Joseph: As I stated earlier I have always loved history but didn’t really have the chance to learn more about black history. My freshmen year in college, I was taking a class and the professor made us read The Miss-Education of the Negro; the way Carter G. Woodson explained the conditioning of black people was sickening to me. I later took more classes that required us to read about our history extensively. I also discovered YouTube videos of Dr. John Henrick Clarke, Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan, Ashra Kwesi, Ivan Van Sertima, John Jackson, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, etc. I would watch the videos for hours, after that I would read for hours because I wanted to know why black people all over the world were oppressed. Also, reading the book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali helped me develop a deeper interest in history. Our stories need to be shared, because for thousands of years our history has been hidden. White supremacy has done a fantastic job of hiding our history and convincing us that we shouldn’t be interested in knowing who we are. Our history is unique because it is literally the stories of the world, the true stories of the origins of European and other white civilizations. If it were not for African people humanity would not be as advanced as it is today. Every other group of people in the world has the ability to learn who they are, celebrate themselves and self-actualize; we (Black people in America) have that same right.

Fancy: How long does it take you to write a volume of On the Shoulders of Giants?

Joseph: Writing each volume of On the Shoulders of Giants if a different experience, each experience will dictate the length of the writing process. It took me about four months to write On the Shoulders of Giants Vol: 1 North America. I was familiar with some of the characters and their stories and knew where to find the information. For On the Shoulders of Giants Vol: 2 Central America it took me about six to seven months to write the book. The research process is what takes up the bulk of the time, outside of editing the book. Once I find all the information I need for my characters, it’s pretty much down-hill from there. I have hard time finding information about black women in certain part of the world. For On the Shoulders of Giants Vol: 2 Central America, I was disappointed that I couldn’t find more information about Black women, my search for Black women took about three months, and I only found significant information on one Black woman. So depending on how much research I have to conduct, it can take between four and seven months to write my books; from there it’s off to be edited and beta read.

Fancy: In layman’s terms, what does the Live Skilled Live Fulfilled organization do?

Joseph: Live Skilled Live Fulfilled provides life skills to underprivileged communities to help equip them with the skills they need to be successful in life. I come from a community where survival is the only way people know how to lie. When you are only in survival mode you will never take the time to learn to thrive; you need life skills to thrive in this world. Too often members of our community get swallowed up by poverty, lack of education, a lack of skills, and they have no idea how to create for themselves. Live Skilled Live Fulfilled helps people develop the skills they need to change their lives and become self-sufficient. In my opinion, a part of being empowered is having the ability to do for self; our motto is “We prepare you to win”.

Fancy: Why are you so passionate about sexual and domestic violence?

Joseph: My passion for preventing sexual and domestic violence comes from learning what was going on, and understanding that I have the ability to make a difference. We all should be passionate about stopping sexual and domestic violence; we just live in a culture that promotes these behaviors. My thing is if I have the ability to help change the culture a bit, I will get to work. Too often we sit by and watch as people are abused and battered; our response usually is to either turn a blind eye or comment and take no action. As long as we continue to act as if nothing is happening we put another generation of women, men, and children in danger. My question to myself is always, how can I make a difference? What can I do different today that I didn’t do yesterday to make this world better?  Also, another thing that makes me passionate is to see how many young Black boys and girls who are victims of sexual and domestic violence. Our community is very vulnerable, and it is a scary thought. We have to worry about threats from outside of our community, as well as inside of our community. If we continue to do nothing we will keep getting the same results; I just hope it’s not too late before we decide to take action as a collective.

Fancy: Tell us more about the Freedom Train Network and the podcasts you host.

Joseph: The Freedom Train Podcast Series is one of the most challenging things I am doing. Lol. My friend, business partner, and co-host Patrick Irvine and I started the Freedom Train Podcast Series about four years ago; we wanted to create a platform for the Black community to be able to tell our stories. We also created the Freedom Train Podcast Series, because we are authors who wanted to tell the world we were authors. We use our platform to connect our community with the movers and shakers within the Black community; it is our way of telling our community about what is going on and who is doing it. We look for people who are using their platforms to make a difference, people who are doing great thing but may not have a large following. We do interview people with names and large followings, but we try to conduct our interviews in a way that humanizes our guest and empowers our readers. I believe that all of our guests are more than their businesses, they are humans and their platforms are what they do, not who they are. The Freedom Train Podcast Series was the first podcast we hosted on The Freedom Train Network; and the podcast helped to lead us to creating the Freedom Train Network. We now host five podcasts and one blog under the Freedom Train Network. Our newest additions to our network are the Lessons From The Screen podcast hosted by Patrick Irvine, Office Hours with Professor Carl Tone Jones, The Fix Sports Podcast and the On the Shoulders of Giants podcast which I host. I fell in love with podcasting, and I always believed that we should be telling our own stories, so the Freedom Train Network feels like something I should have been doing a long time ago. One of the greatest parts of podcasting is getting a chance to meet great black people all over the world and have them tell their stories to me; it doesn’t get any better than that.

Fancy: How do you balance your life and work?

Joseph: I am learning to get better at balancing life with work; I am always working and don’t find enough time to live. But I do my best to do the things I love to do, I will not live with regrets, no matter how busy I am. You must always find time for yourself and the things you love. I am a workaholic but over the past couple of years I have paid the price of working too much. I have missed out of things that I really wanted to do; I have also learned that work isn’t going anywhere so live a little. When you do not have balance in your life you will not be able to enjoy your success, you will always be focused on your next goal. I want to be as successful in my personal life as I am in my business. I work to create habits that will work well with building a family; your family can help to enhance your business. Meditation is one of my most effective tools in incorporating balance into my life. Just sitting there breathing in that prana (cosmic energy), allowing the creator to talk to you is rejuvenating and a must. All work and no play will make you not like yourself.

Fancy: What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned as a man?

Joseph: I think the most valuable lesson I have learned is to truly love myself. I say that because as a man I was never really taught to love myself; I am only supposed to love my wife, children and providing. We have too many men who lack self-esteem, and our low self-esteem is celebrated. Men often look to boost their self-esteem by having a lot of sex, making a lot of money, owning fancy things, you know, conquest make me feel good. But when all of that is stripped away you have a child who has never learned to grow up. Learning to love myself unconditionally has allowed me to honestly criticize myself and improve myself. If you can’t be honest with yourself, you will never grow. To me growth is a huge part of our journey as human beings; how am I getting better every day? How is my self-esteem? How do I feel about myself today? Those are important questions we need to be able to answer on a daily basis. I am proud to say I am a man who has learned to love myself for who I am, it has allowed me to grow into a better man, and I am closer to becoming the man I want to be. Self-love is the best love, but also one of the toughest lessons to learn.

Fancy: You have founded so many entities from the ground up. What advice would you give other Black men about starting a business?

Joseph: If you want to start a business then just do it, don’t wait on someone to validate your idea, just do it. Research your industry, learn what legalities you have to have in place to operate as an entity, make sure your paperwork is together, and get a mentor. I believe too many people get stuck in the idea stage because they are afraid of making mistakes. Go out and make mistakes at 100 miles per hour, then learn how not to make those mistake again. Black men are brilliant; we only need to know the rules of the game to become winners. The world of business is not friendly and will eat you alive if you are not ready to become a boss. Have an “I can” attitude. Always be willing to learn something new from someone. All the information you receive will not come nicely packaged from some person you view as an authority. Building a business or a brand is hard work, but it can be done. Attach yourself to as many people who are successful and willing to help you. Do not waste your time trying to please others and convincing others that your dream is worthy of your time. Your dream was validated when you dreamt it; how others feel has nothing to do with you. Do what you have to do to fund your dream. But the most important piece of advice is do not quit on your dream. It will not happen overnight, but as long as you continue to build you will become successful.

Fancy: Do you have any upcoming events or projects that you care to share?

Joseph: For Black History Month I have a Black History Celebration event in my city of Tallahassee, FL, on February 24^th from 2:00 pm to 5:00pm.

I am in the process of writing my third book On the Shoulders of Giants Vol: 3 Central America.

I am a part of the African American Authors Literacy Awareness Campaign (AAALAC) 2018 February Virtual Book Tour.

I will be hosting a workshop for authors on preparing for a successful interview; the live broadcast will happen on February 26^th at 8:00pm on the AAALAC 2018 Virtual Book Tour page.

I am in the beginning stages of writing a play about a historical character named Madison Washington.

The On the Shoulders of Giants podcast has officially launched on the Freedom Train Network at www.freedomtrainradio.com.

I have an author’s speaking engagement in Tallahassee, FL scheduled for March 31^st.

I will be interviewed on The Steve Manderson Show (sports show) on March 2oth.

Follow Joseph’s social media and visit website below.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Ontheshoulders1/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ontheshoulders1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OntheShoulders1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-ward-a8b33b78/

Web store for books: http://ontheshoulders1.com/store/

Website: http://ontheshoulders1.com/

Nonprofit website: https://www.ontheshoulders.org/

Freedom Train network website: http://www.freedomtrainradio.com/

-Fancy