Enlightenment Issue MADE Magazine | Page 17

MADEFEATURES MADEXXXX genuine curiosity . I just mix that up and go .
MADE : You have all these projects and I know you have a lot more that you want to accomplish , but do you feel like you made it ?
CTG : No , I don ’ t . I don ’ t why . That ’ s a good question . I don ’ t though . My mother told me a long time ago , “ Just be happy that you ’ re making a living .” I feel that I ’ m making a great living . I just don ’ t feel like I made it yet . And I don ’ t know what ’ s going to make me feel like that to be totally honest with you . I don ’ t know what ’ s going to make me say , “ Wow , I made it .” I know the goals I ’ m looking at and the people I look up to . I look up to Steve Harvey , Ryan Seacrest and Howard Stern . Those are the individuals who made it . They ’ re good . They will forever be etched in stone . I feel like with my legacy , I ’ m really just starting to establish , right now in this moment .
MADE : What other areas of entertainment do you want to explore ?
CTG : I love creating , meaning I love the whole executive producer vibe . I love finding talent , developing talent and building shows around that talent . Whether it ’ s a podcast , television or roles for movies . I ’ m writing scripts now . I ’ ve got TV ideas that I ’ ve come up with in the works , movie ideas I ’ ve come up with . Reality shows . I love that space . I love that space of creating . Finding new people , putting them on and empowering them . That ’ s how you ’ re forever in the game . I really feel that way . I really feel like you ’ re defined by the people you empower .
MADE : What has been the key to your evolution without changing who you are ?
CTG : I ’ m not afraid to grow . That ’ s another thing I talk about in my book — how a know-itall knows nothing . That ’ s why I never liked that whole “ no new friends ” concept because I feel like when you shut yourself off from having new friends , you shut yourself off from new people , new experiences and people who can help you grow and who can help you evolve . I ’ m not afraid to grow , I ’ m not afraid to evolve . Seven years ago , when I first started this , my daughter wasn ’ t eight years old . I wasn ’ t married seven years ago . There are different things that happen in your life that cause you to grow and evolve . That ’ s just what I ’ ve done . I haven ’ t changed . The core of me is still the same .
MADE : What ’ s the main thing you want people to take away from your book ? CTG : I honestly just want people to be empowered . I want people to be as empowered reading my book as I was empowered after reading From Niggas to Gods by Akil , The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley , Message to The Blackman In America by Elijah Muhammad and after I read the Four Agreements . I just want people to be empowered . Other people ’ s stories empowered me growing up . I remember the first time I read From Niggas to Gods by Akil and the way he was talking in the book to young black people was so relevant and so on point that I literally had to change my ways immediately . After I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X , I realized that Malcolm X was once Malcolm Little . That just teaches you the process is real . Everyone can evolve . Everyone can grow so I just want people to read this book and genuinely feel empowered . I want people to feel like , “ Man , eff what everybody is talking about .” Yeah , there ’ s white privilege . Yes , there ’ s systemic racism , and yes you will be marginalized and oppressed , but you ’ re still special . God put you here and God created you exactly how he wanted you to be . You need to tap into that divine energy and just grow and go . Period . I want people to read this book and feel like , “ Can ’ t nothing stop me .” When Fat Joe and Remy Ma say , “ Nothing can stop me , I ’ m all the way up .” Or when Diddy says , “ Can ’ t stop , won ’ t stop .” Or when Jay Z says , “ I cannot lose .” I have genuinely felt that way everyday day of my life no matter the situation , no matter the circumstance . When people ask me why , I just say because I tapped into what I was , what I am . What I am is a Black man from Moncks Corner , South Carolina , raised on a dirt road . I say that so much because for whatever reason that gives me strength . That ’ s the energy that keeps me going . I just want people to read this book and feel empowered .
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