Willie Jackson is a media executive, technologist and entrepreneur whose latest publishing project, Abernathy Magazine, was born from a troubling era of heightened public awareness of violence against black men.
At the former CTO of The Domino Project (a publishing company in New York City started by Seth Godin, bestselling author and marketing guru), Willie has held an impressive professional background at the crossroads of tech and communication.
In this interview, Willie shares how he believes narrative and storytelling can help us all show up in the fullness of our humanity.
Willie encourages you to stop being addicted to hurdles and obstacles that hold us back — especially, from writing. Walls, Willie says, are “imaginary, psychological, and not real.”
The interview free to stream, so tune in to listen below!
Listen: Walls Are Not Real
As You Listen…
- What moments of darkness have inspired you to take positive action?
- Are there “imaginary walls” holding you back? What are they? How can you challenge them?
- Willie says, “You always know what needs to be done.” So, real talk, what do you know you need to do?
Minutes
06:33 – Willie talks about Abernathy and why he started it
10:33 – Willie’s life before Abernathy (and the story of launching it)
17:30 – How work helps in “undoing this darkness” that causes divisions between us
21:05 – Curating the narratives and articles published in Abernathy
28:28 – Willie talks about the reasons why he chose to publish written articles instead of audio or video
31:44 – Getting started on a project and “learning by doing” is better than reading – “hiding behind the words”
34:11 – Willie’s story of how he met Seth Godin and got involved with the Domino Project
38:47 – The walls that we put around ourselves are imaginary and not real.
40:20 – Willie shares his thoughts about giving advice to aspiring authors, indie publishers, and anyone doing creative work
43:25 – Writing has to be an internal journey as much as it is an external one.
44:37 – You need to do your work.
