Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Spence.
Hi Stephen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The great Les Brown once said that the graveyard is filled with the greatest ideas. Those ideas are owned by people who never did anything with them when they were living. When those people passed away, those ideas died right along with them. His words struck me like lightning, and from that point, I’ve made it my purpose to never hold on to an idea. I practice IFA, Which is a Yoruba traditional spiritual practice. For beginners, it can be very confusing and overwhelming. I’ve created cartoon animations about the Orishas which can be seen on my YouTube channel. The purpose of these cartoons are to teach people the characteristics of those particular Orishas and to entertain at the same time. The cartoons were very helpful to many people but there’s a limit when it comes to details. In October 2022, I came up with an idea. That idea was to write a book and make the information relatable to beginners. I immediately put that idea into action. I’ve used everyday life scenarios in story forms to bring understanding to the level of beginners. I’ve also included pictures to give the reader a visual concept towards their learning. Now that the book which is titled (The Orishas Within You) is now published, I can proudly say that that idea will not go to the graveyard with me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Writing my book was not easy, especially this being my first one. As the chapters were being created, I had to continuously put myself and the mind of the reader. I would place myself in the mind of the person who is receiving this information for the first time. I had to make sure that each chapter was relatable, learnable, and applicable. After the book was written, the next challenge was the presentation. I had to create a cover that was attractive to the seeker. In this profession, people do judge a book by its cover. Before publishing the book, it had to be proofread for grammar mistakes and typos. There’s a saying that goes: it’s better to measure twice and cut once. In this case, I had to measure more than twice, especially this being my first book. I’ve also created an audio version of this book for people who would rather listen then to actually read. Recording the audio was more challenging than creating the actual book. If your stomach growls and the microphone picks it up, then you have to do that whole part over again. When you’re sitting in one spot for hours, on top of hours, it can be very uncomfortable. After everything is published, the last challenge is the promotion. This market is overly saturated, so I have to rely on promoting to get the book in front of my target audience.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a digital creator. I create cartoons, and animations. I use that platform to educate and entertain. I collaborate with other Voice Overs to bring these stories to life. The proudest moment I get out of this is knowing that what I just created was once an idea. Making my ideas come to life is something I can duplicate as many times as I’d like. What sets me apart from everyone else is the fact that I love the process just as much as I love the end result.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
We now live in the information era. Finding a mentor or instructions on how to do a certain thing is all at your fingertips. Just to give an example, if I wanted to learn how to bake a cake, I could go to Google and read the instructions. If I’m a person who don’t like to read, then I could go to YouTube and watch a video of someone actually baking the cake. About 20 years ago, information wasn’t as easy to access as it is now. What works for me is first visualizing something in my brain then doing everything I can to bring it to reality. If there’s a task that I’m having trouble figuring out, there’s always the power of the Internet to help me figure out how to do it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DiamondGlobe?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dganimations9172/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dganimations9172/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stephen17686942
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dganimations9172
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Orishas-Within-You-Stephen-Spence/dp/B0BMZ7G4D6/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
