Stories, Dreams, and Tuskegee with Robert Constant

Robert Constant works in higher education fundraising by day, but his side passion is writing children’s books. He is the published author of two children’s books, Hey Tuskegee! and Hello, Grandma!, both of which have spent time on Amazon’s bestsellers lists for their category. Robert talks with me about how your creative dream may change your life—and it may change someone else’s, too; that you don’t have enough energy because you’re not doing your creativity, not the other way around; and the fact that it has never been easier for most people to follow their creative dreams than it is right now.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:18 Dreaming of creating, jazz club inspiration.

09:56 University licensed book for bookstore sale.

14:19 Inspiring Tuskegee history: educate, inspire, acknowledge excellence.

17:27 Positive Tuskegee spirit highlighted through historic pride.

24:25 Writing a book changed my life positively.

31:40 Experiencing book signing events feels surreal.

33:39 Signed a book for an appreciative fan.

38:39 The singular experience of seeing your book for the first time.

46:06 City buzz inspires thoughts on future books.

51:13 Fight for self-control and personal ownership.

56:02 The value of finding the way that works for you.

Show Links: Robert Constant

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Transcript: Robert Constant

Please note: This is an unedited transcript, provided as a courtesy, and reflects the actual conversation as closely as possible. Please forgive any typographical or grammatical errors.

Nancy Norbeck [00:00:06]:
Welcome to Follow Your Curiosity. Ordinary people, extraordinary creativity. Here’s how to get unstuck. I’m your host, creativity coach, Nancy Norbeck. Let’s go. Hi, folks. I have a quick announcement before we get started. This past autumn, I launched a 6 week group program called Make Bad Art.

Nancy Norbeck [00:00:26]:
The first round of that program finished just before Christmas, and it was a rousing success. During our time together, we tackled self judgment, challenged our perfectionistic behaviors. Were those rules we’ve been led to believe really true or just arbitrary or even made up? And gave ourselves permission to be our imperfect selves. We also, of course, spent time making bad art quite intentionally to shut down those voices and bring out the creative inner kids we’d lost touch with. You know, the ones we all used to be who knew how to play without worrying what others think. Along the way, folks in the program rediscovered themselves as artists and found their true selves under all the things our culture tells us we have to be. They loosened up and above all, they remembered how to play and have a lot more fun. Sound appealing? I invite you to check out the course for yourself.

Nancy Norbeck [00:01:18]:
The next round starts very soon on January 20th, and we would love to have you join us. If you have any questions at all, please get in touch with me. I’m happy to help. No pressure, no judgment, just a chat. You can find all the details and my contact info at make bad art course.com. Hope to see you there.

Robert Constant works in higher education fundraising by day, but his side passion is writing children’s books. He is the published author of 2 children’s books, Hey Tuskegee! and Hello, Grandma!

Nancy Norbeck [00:01:51]:
Both of which have spent time on Amazon’s best sellers list for their category. Robert talks with me about how your creative dream may change your life, and it may change someone else’s too. That you don’t have enough energy because you’re not doing your creativity, not the other way around, and the fact that it has never been easier for most people to follow their creative dreams than it is right now. I think you’ll enjoy my conversation with Robert Constant. Robert, welcome to Follow Your Curiosity.

Robert Constant [00:02:21]:
Thank you. Thank you so much, Nancy, for having me.

Nancy Norbeck [00:02:25]:
We’ve we’ve been working on this for a while. So I start everybody with the same question. Were you a creative kid, or did you discover your creative side later on?

Robert Constant [00:02:36]:
I think I, discovered my creative side later on. I started to believe I was a creative kid probably in high school.

Nancy Norbeck [00:02:46]:
Mhmm.

Robert Constant [00:02:46]:
Instead of paying attention to the teacher, I was kinda like in my own little world and creating things, you know, that, you know, I probably shouldn’t have been creating. And then it just followed me to Tuskegee. When I got to Tuskegee, I was in business classes, and I was thinking about, you know, creating a business, like a a jazz club. Those are the sort of things that were interesting to me because I I love jazz, and I just think that it’s a wonderful genre of music. But, also, I think it’s it’s the ultimate place to, like, have a meal, have some drinks, hang out with friends and family and loved ones, and and listen to some wonderful music. So I’ve always been that guy who’s like, you you got your thing going on here, but here’s what’s in my heart and here are some things that are just interesting to me. And so I I honestly started to think like, yeah, you might be one of those creatives, Robert.

Nancy Norbeck [00:03:47]:
That’s interesting. Did you play?

Robert Constant [00:03:50]:
I did not play, but I love music. I I do not play, but I love music. Like, I’m always listening to music. Car, shower, cleaning, you name it. Like, working out. If there isn’t music playing, it something is definitely off. Definitely off.

Nancy Norbeck [00:04:12]:
That’s the first sign for everybody. Something’s up with Robert.

Robert Constant [00:04:16]:
Yeah. There’s no doubt about it. And then I think I grew up in a time with just great music. Mhmm. You know, the 8 the eighties were just fantastic.

Nancy Norbeck [00:04:25]:
Yes.

Robert Constant [00:04:26]:
You know, from the big names to the, you know, the Princes and the Michael Jacksons and the Madonna’ to the Duran Durans, to the police, to the Cindi Laupers, you know, to Run DMC, to Slick Rick. You name it. Like, it there was just from all different genres, it was great music from everybody. So, yeah, it was hard not to be a music fan in the eighties.

Nancy Norbeck [00:04:48]:
It’s true. It’s very true. We could we could do a whole podcast about eighties music if we weren’t here.

Robert Constant [00:04:54]:
No no doubt. No doubt about it. No doubt about it. Because I I love the eighties music for sure. Yeah.

Nancy Norbeck [00:05:02]:
So you you did business classes. Yeah. Did you ever actually play with the idea of of the jazz club? Did you get a chance to try it?

Robert Constant [00:05:13]:
No. Not at all. And the the most interesting thing about that is my wife’s my wife’s husband. My wife’s first cousin. My wife’s husband. That’s me. My wife’s first cousin is a jazz artist, an international jazz artist, and he’s been on countless Grammy nominated, albums. And a couple years ago, I I approached him and said, listen, you know, I’d like to work with you and put together, like, a a jazz night as a fundraiser, for the East Orange YMCA.

Robert Constant [00:05:47]:
I was the chair of the East Orange YMCA. So we got together, and we put together this event, and it was a huge success. And so that kinda gave me, you know, a little bit of what I what I wanted, but not everything. So we worked with some jazz clubs locally, and, it was a lot of fun. But I gotta tell you, I still love the idea of having a jazz club that, you know, just has the right atmosphere. And, you know, whether you’re, you know, Joe Blow or some big star, we would be the place to go. Mhmm. You know, where where you can see local talent and you can see international folks.

Robert Constant [00:06:31]:
But people would wanna be there because that’s, like, the epicenter of of jazz in this area. So I would still love to do something like that in New Jersey. I I honestly believe the place would be packed every night if you found the right town.

Nancy Norbeck [00:06:46]:
Yeah.

Robert Constant [00:06:47]:
If you found the right town with a train, obviously, you know, where folks after work, they’re like, you know what? Man. It’s like 6:30. Let me catch a couple sets, you know, some drinks, little appetizers. Yeah. That is I I honestly still think that that is still, a viable business opportunity. Mhmm. Well, if you

Nancy Norbeck [00:07:10]:
ever get a chance to do it, you let me know.

Robert Constant [00:07:12]:
I will.

Nancy Norbeck [00:07:14]:
So how did you go from having that dream to writing kids’ books?

Robert Constant [00:07:21]:
Yeah. Well, the writing the kids’ books thing came because, you know, I always enjoyed writing. So at Tuskegee, I actually wrote what I would call a a young adult, book. You know, it’s kinda like a novel, and it was really based off of my experiences growing up in Miami with my best friends. And, it was just something where I said, you know, I just wanna write a story that’s very similar to what I experienced in Miami. And so I I wrote it at Tuskegee, and I never published it. But the only person that’s actually listened to the story is my wife, who was my then girlfriend at at school. And so I always had it, and I knew one day, like, man, I’m gonna publish this.

Robert Constant [00:08:17]:
I never did. Still haven’t published it. But a couple years ago, I was working for Rutgers, and I left Rutgers to go to a, a consulting firm. I went to this consulting firm, just did not enjoy my experience there. I think the consulting firm wasn’t thrilled with me as well. And it was something where it was like, this is just not working for either one of us. So I left, and I didn’t work for a whole year. So during that time when I was searching for jobs and interviewing, and every job, it seemed like I was finishing second, for the gig.

Robert Constant [00:08:57]:
I was like, you know what? I’m gonna write a book about Tuskegee. I’m gonna I’m gonna do something while I have this time because I was interviewing. But at the at the end of the day, I I still had, you know, 4 or 5 hours where, you know, I’m really not working. I’m looking for gigs. So I started to write. And I pitched it to Mascot Books. And the reason for pitching it to Mascot Books was because they had, like, cornered the market on children’s books that were sports related and children’s books that were affiliated with colleges and universities. Well, I wanted to do a book about Tuskegee.

Robert Constant [00:09:45]:
And I noticed that when you go into the university bookstores at all of these colleges and universities, many of them, were licensed products.

Nancy Norbeck [00:09:56]:
Mhmm.

Robert Constant [00:09:56]:
So it just means that the university has given them, the author, the right to sell the book in the, you know, in the bookstore. And so I was like, maybe if if I do that, then that means that the bookstore will absolutely take my book in and sell it because it’ll be licensed. It has to be licensed in order to be in the in the store because you’re selling licensed products, t shirts, hats, you know, bats, whatever. And so that was a really good decision. And sure enough, when I called Tuskegee and said, this is what I’d like to do, they were like, well, is your product licensed? And I was like, yeah, it’s licensed. It took longer than I thought, but we eventually got it in. So that’s kinda how it got started. It really got started with me just wanting to maximize my time while I wasn’t working.

Robert Constant [00:10:50]:
And I knew that at some point, I’m gonna go back to work. And right now, I have the time. So I’ve been talking about writing a book for a while. That was the idea was to do something, that, kinda highlighted Tuskegee. Not just Tuskegee the town, not just Booker t Washington, not just George Washington Carver, not just the Tuskegee Airmen, but to highlight the university as being the catalyst for bringing all of those folks together. Because that’s what their connection is, and a lot of people don’t understand that. There are books about Booker t Washington, books about George Washington Carver, books about the Tuskegee Airmen. But if it wasn’t for the university, none of those folks would have been there because that’s why they were all there.

Robert Constant [00:11:38]:
So I wanted to do that in children’s form. And, we put together a story that really, the background was homecoming, and homecoming at HBCUs are huge. And it’s it’s like a really big deal. Like homecoming at Howard or Tuskegee or Fisk or FAMU or Morehouse, like, everybody marks that date on their calendar. And homecoming is a it’s a homecoming. It’s a reunion. It’s a party. It’s a concert.

Robert Constant [00:12:13]:
It’s a football game. It’s a block party. You know, it’s all of those things in one. So they’re they’re historically been very popular, and I thought that would be a great way to grab my audience in and really teach them about, you know, Tuskegee and the things that make tux Tuskegee very unique and historic.

Nancy Norbeck [00:12:36]:
I’m thinking that, you know, plenty of people go to a school and don’t end up deciding to write a book about it. So your experience at Tuskegee must have been pretty special.

Robert Constant [00:12:47]:
Well, it it was. And part of the reason for, why it was so special is, there’s certainly some history there. So I had some folks in my family who went to Tuskegee, and then I had a a special woman in my life who was my great grand aunt. Now, she was in the Bahamas, but she was a big time tennis player And she was also part of the women’s suffrage movement in the Bahamas, you know, for equal rights, women’s rights. Right? But she was this big time tennis player and she would travel around the Bahamas and the United States to play tennis. But back in those days, black folks couldn’t play in the US Open, so they had their own tournaments, similar to having their own schools at that point. And one of the places where they would always go would be Tuskegee, on the campus of Tuskegee. Tuskegee just happens to be the birthplace of black tennis.

Robert Constant [00:13:45]:
So they would have these tennis tournaments called the Southern Open. And they would have these tournaments, and folks from around the country and even other countries would come there to compete. And so she came there to compete in doubles and singles. And in 1939, she won the doubles title. But more than that, she actually met George Washington Carver. Oh. So to have someone in my family who’s actually met George Washington Carver, and could share that story. It was just amazing.

Robert Constant [00:14:19]:
And then I wind up going to that same institution. So there was certainly some history there. And when you’re at Tuskegee, you just feel like you just know, like, okay, something something big happened here and you feel it. And I think that’s something that has always just been a draw and I always wanted to share that with other folks, particularly people who love history or children who may not understand, you know, what happened in Tuskegee because it wasn’t all great. At the same time, there was a lot of excellence happening. And as a children’s book author, I like to try to teach young people, particularly in inner cities, that, you know, you may grow up in a a tough environment, but there’s still excellence that can come from that. And there’s lots of examples of people who grew up in tough environments, whether it be rural or in the city, and they’ve done something exceptional with their life. So I was looking for a way to not only inspire folks, but educate them and also just bring some attention to my alma mater.

Nancy Norbeck [00:15:32]:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, you’d certainly seem to have done that because you’ve taken this book to a lot of places.

Robert Constant [00:15:40]:
We we have. I mean, we’ve taken the book all the way to to Africa. We went a couple years ago to Ghana and, went to a hospital that they do special surgeries for for young people, who have, you know, issues with their jaw and their mouth. And, we just tried to, you know, take some joy. We took some free stuff, and we read our book, and we gave away the book. And so, you know, it’s it’s given me the opportunity to to travel, to talk to different audiences. We’ve been throughout the Caribbean. We just got back from Turks and Caicos, and they’re gonna they’re gonna bring Nice.

Robert Constant [00:16:24]:
Into their stores. This this the book is in, in the Bahamas. I mean, we’ve been to Jamaica, Dominican Republic. We’ve read. So, there’s that’s the kind of stuff that I love to do and and and want to do more of it at some point because that’s what brings me a lot of joy. But I think, you know, one day we’ll when we have more time on our hands, you know, the goal is to get the book in the hands of more students around the globe, because I think Tuskegee has a very unique brand, and it has a certainly has a unique story. And it’s a story of of hope. It’s a story of excellence.

Robert Constant [00:17:07]:
But it’s a story of believing that, you know, there’s something greater out there for you. And if you pursue it, with, like, reckless abandon, you’ll you’ll get to it, but it’s gonna take a lot of effort.

Nancy Norbeck [00:17:20]:
For sure. For sure. How how did the kids respond to that message?

Robert Constant [00:17:27]:
Usually, it’s it’s very positive. You know, Tuskegee is a place where when we talk about the story, we try to share just from a, I guess, from a, excitement and spirit standpoint. So there’s a lot of spirit about Tuskegee. A lot of people know of the history and they know that, yeah, there’s excellence tied to it. But we also just try to show people that graduates of Tuskegee University or people who are fans of Tuskegee University, they know that there was so much history there that we’re just proud of that history. And we like to share that history because it’s such a historic place. And so usually, we start off with a lot of, you know, just chants and songs, and we get kids, like, talking and and and singing about Tuskegee. And I think through that, because young people love to learn through song.

Robert Constant [00:18:34]:
Mhmm. And so that’s what we try to do. And so it’s I think it’s it’s well received, the that message of excellence, that message of, you know, it’s gonna be difficult, but you can overcome that message of, you know, don’t give up. Don’t give up on you because there’s some great things that can happen when you continue to work hard. You know? So we try to be very real with them, but we also make sure and they understand that. And, you know, there’s so many great things that you can do when you believe in something. You have a dream sort of thing. You know? And not necessarily a Martin Luther King dream, but a dream that, you know, things can be better and we can do better.

Robert Constant [00:19:15]:
So I think it’s well received.

Nancy Norbeck [00:19:18]:
Do you have a favorite story from a visit to a school? Or you mentioned other other places, any of them.

Robert Constant [00:19:26]:
You know, I what I would say is my favorite story was, I went to George Washington Carver in Newark, and I think that the best thing I could say is that when the students get into it and they are singing, you know, the hate Tuskegee song, And and they’re they’re, like, into it. And, like, after you speak and you say goodbye and, oh, hi. And that one kid stops you, and they’re like, hey, did you write this book? And I’m like, you know, and and in my mind, I’m like, I’ve been for the last hour, I’ve been talking about okay. Yes. I I I wrote the book. And then you go to the back of the book and you show them, you know, your picture. And they’re like, oh, wow. They like to see their faces.

Robert Constant [00:20:27]:
And I think what that says to me is like, oh my god. Like, this dude wrote this book. Man, I guess I I could I wanna do that too. And it’s like, exactly. That’s exactly what we wanna do. We wanna inspire you to write and to do the things that you love to do. You know? Write about something that you love. I love Skiegy, you know, Tuskegee for short.

Robert Constant [00:20:51]:
I love Skiegy. And and it means a lot to me because I it it taught me a lot about myself, and I’m very proud of that. And so that’s what I wrote about. And I think when people say, well, you know, I wanna write a book. I’m like, write about something that you love. Mhmm. Because it’s work. Right? It’s it’s work to get this done.

Robert Constant [00:21:11]:
It’s not as easy as you think. You’re like, oh, it’s a children’s book. Oh, this will be done. It’s like, crap. Do you know? I had to do a lot of research. I had to talk to scholars and librarians and, you know, people who went to Tuskegee years ago. And you read a lot, you know, read the history and and you look at newspaper clippings. And so, you know, you had to do a lot of that.

Robert Constant [00:21:35]:
And but it’s been it’s been great because I’ve gone to schools, I’ve gone to alumni clubs, I’ve spoken in Atlanta. I’ve I’ve sold books in Baltimore. I’ve gone to Ohio. Like, this could be a full time job if I wanted to. There’s a there’s a group of, Delta Sigma Theta is a sorority that is like the the sister organization to to my organization which is Omega Psi 5. And there is one of our sisters in in Maryland who she’ll call me up and she’ll be like, I need a 1,000 books. I need 1500. I need 2,000.

Robert Constant [00:22:15]:
We’re gonna be giving out books this week. We’re gonna be giving out books next year. We wanna order, you know, and when someone says that, like, you kinda like, you wanna buy 2,000, 3000 of my books? Yeah. Like, you know, you’re just like, what the you know, I mean, it’s it’s it’s very powerful. Mhmm. So that was a long way of saying, I have lots of different stories, but I think when you go to schools and the kids are like, oh my god. You wrote this book.

Nancy Norbeck [00:22:44]:
Yeah.

Robert Constant [00:22:45]:
Why you ain’t say that? You know, I was like, I’ve been saying that the whole time. You know, but, yeah, that’s the thing when it’s they kind of realize, like, dude, you’re a real person. You can write a book too. Like, they were like, oh, okay. So I I might be able to do this. Excellent. That’s why we’re here.

Nancy Norbeck [00:23:00]:
You know, you have me thinking about, like, how old was I when I realized that a book was something that you could write?

Robert Constant [00:23:09]:
Yeah.

Nancy Norbeck [00:23:10]:
Because I you know, when I was little, I don’t I I think that they they they were just a thing. They were just there. You know? Yeah. And and so I I kinda wonder if if it might just be the first time that they actually realized that a person

Robert Constant [00:23:26]:
Yes.

Nancy Norbeck [00:23:26]:
Sat down and wrote a book.

Robert Constant [00:23:29]:
And and that’s what I had to understand. Because in my mind, I’m like, of course, I’m I’m the author. I’m gonna

Nancy Norbeck [00:23:34]:
have to write

Robert Constant [00:23:34]:
a code. And it’s like there it doesn’t really click Yeah. Until the end, and you’re talking about it. And I’m telling you, this has happened several times where I’m about to leave. It was like, mister Robert, who wrote this book? You know, who wrote the book? Did you write the book? You know, like, how did you know you wanted to write a book? How long did it take you? Like, where were you when you wrote the book? You know, like, you know, just questions like that. I love answering those questions because they’re curious. Mhmm. And that’s what you want young people to be.

Robert Constant [00:24:09]:
You want them to be like, yeah. Well Yep. Tell me about this. Tell me about that. And you get some you get some classes where, man, by the end of it, you’re like zonked. You know, you’re I’m I mean, you’re just like, dude, they beat me up. Like, they’re asking about this and that and that. I’m like, oh my god.

Robert Constant [00:24:25]:
I know all this stuff. So, yeah, it’s it’s it’s great because they will they will ask you a million questions or you, they’ll treat you like a celebrity. Like I’ve gone to schools where you’re in there shaking hands, taking pictures, signing books, like, can you sign our can you can you sign our book? It’s like, yeah, of course. Oh my god. You know, so and then some of them will take them home and, you know, and show their parents and, you know, it’s just yeah. I’m I’m telling you, I think the writing a book, writing, hey, Tuskegee and hello grandma, and then the hey, Tuskegee coloring book, which is behind me, it changed my life. There’s no question for for the good. I get invited to so many things that I can’t even do.

Robert Constant [00:25:14]:
I if I really like I said, if I wanted to make this a full time gig, I absolutely could. It would be a labor of love, but, you know, I’m just not ready for that just yet. But at some point, that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna leave my current world behind, and this is what I’m gonna do. Spend my time talking to students about Tuskegee, something that I love dearly.

Nancy Norbeck [00:25:36]:
Yeah. Well and and I think, you know, like, this is not your full time job. You know? You do this on top of a full time job, and I think it’s it’s worth talking about, like, how I how in the heck do you make this happen? I mean, you’re talking about, you know, wanting to take this around the world. You’ve already taken it to a significant chunk of the world. How do you do that and do a full time job and not, like, you know, have one of those Calvin and Hobbes boxes that pops out multiples of you in order to accomplish this?

Robert Constant [00:26:13]:
Yeah. I think you gotta you gotta pick your battles and your spots, and you gotta know yourself. You know when you have the most energy, in a day where you can spend time thinking about this. Because I think when it comes to children’s books or any writing, you you you need I need my quiet time. I need my time where I can, like, zen out. And for me, a lot of that happens for me often because of my job. Because I’m a fundraiser and I’m constantly traveling in my car or on trains or on buses or on planes. So I’ll be in the plane and I’m like working on work and I’m and I’m like, oh my god.

Robert Constant [00:27:02]:
Oh my god. I love this idea. I love it. And it just comes to you and you’re like, okay. Close the laptop or get out of that file and then you start writing. And you’re like, oh, this is a great idea. Oh my god. Okay.

Robert Constant [00:27:14]:
Okay. This is what I got. And that’s how you start. And what you’ll find is yeah. It’s exhausting. Some weekends, it’s Sunday night. And you finished what you needed to do for home, for the kids, for my spouse, for my sister, for my, you know, my mother, for my mother-in-law, my father-in-law. Everybody’s everybody’s good.

Robert Constant [00:27:39]:
We’re good. Everybody’s asleep. It’s 11, 12 o’clock, and now it’s like, okay. Let me let me spend some time doing this. And you might look up and the clock might say 2:30, 3 o’clock.

Nancy Norbeck [00:27:52]:
Mhmm.

Robert Constant [00:27:53]:
And you’re like, oh my god. I gotta get wet. And, yeah, you go to bed and then you wake up at 5:30 and you’re like, oh my god. Okay. I can’t do that too often. However, you’re so charged by what you’ve created. You’re like, oh my god. This was I I got a lot of it out of my brain.

Robert Constant [00:28:11]:
And and that’s my challenge is I’ve got I’ve got, like, 4 books. Like, I I just I wrote a book before I went on vacation. I was gonna write it on vacation, but then I had some time. So I was like, you know what? I’m gonna write it now. So I wrote it, and I shared it with a, like an award when I say an award winning, a Caldecott Mhmm. Which is Okay. Oh, he he’s a, oh, a Caldecott winning, not author, but he’s a, illustrator. Mhmm.

Robert Constant [00:28:46]:
And so I’ve been developing this rapport with him and I’m like, dude, I need you to create the my next couple of like, you’re when I look at your work, that’s what I need. So he’s interested and so I sent him my just a little sample, a couple pages and he liked it. He was like, you know, here’s here’s what I would think about. Because he only works with, like, one author a year. That’s it. Like, that’s it.

Nancy Norbeck [00:29:14]:
That makes sense. Illustration’s a lot of work.

Robert Constant [00:29:16]:
Yeah. That’s a lot of work. And his work is top notch. So so yeah. So I gotta go back. Now I gotta go back. I’m like, okay. Let me just change them to the but that is so exciting.

Robert Constant [00:29:26]:
To be a creative, I think, is so exciting because you get to do something that’s just not the same. And and, you know, it’s it’s fun. And so to be able to look at to to be able to be in your bed and be sleeping and go, oh my god. I got this idea. And then to write that idea down, and then to keep working on it, refine it, you know, add some stuff to it, and then share it with somebody, and they’re like, oh my god. This is nice. And then for them to say, well, you know, here’s what I would do. Think about that.

Robert Constant [00:29:57]:
Then you you make some edits, and you read it to your spouse. She’s like, well, I like this, but what about that? And then you finally get it together and you’re like, okay. This is what I want. And then you work with your illustrator to to create this vision that’s been stuck in your head. And then you describe what you want. Sometimes I even send pictures of what I want. And with AI, that’s that’s a a tool that you can use to at least help people see your vision. So that’s why it’s it’s really great when you work with an illustrator that you kinda have this connection with because you wanna describe it.

Nancy Norbeck [00:30:40]:
Mhmm.

Robert Constant [00:30:40]:
And you want them to see it, but you also want them to feel it. Right. You want them to know, like, okay. You know what? I think I got it. And so you may have to a a couple different versions of your illustrations, but that’s what that’s what you that’s what you want. And to me, that’s exciting. And so you may lose some sleep, but when you’re going after your dream in life, you’re gonna lose a lot. You’re gonna give up a lot.

Robert Constant [00:31:05]:
You’re gonna sacrifice a lot. And sleep is definitely one of them. But when you’re tired and you’re on that train or you’re driving, and in your mind you’re like, man, I I’m telling you, I love the first couple pages of my of my book. I’m loving what I have. It makes sense. I got an illustration back, a test sketch, and it matches, and it’s perfect. And I can’t wait to keep going. And then to get to the point where it gets published and you see it, and then someone walks into the store and buys it.

Robert Constant [00:31:40]:
Like, that to me will never ever get old. I’ve I’ve gone to Barnes and Noble. I’ve been in Barnes and Noble for 3, 4 hours signing books, my book. Because friends, family, people on social media were like, hey, I heard you. And I’m signing books and I’m like, this is crazy. Or you look at the newspaper and you see your face there talking about your book and you’re like, this is crazy. Or you’re in another country and you’re walking up the escalator, and you walk into the bookstore because you know that your book is there, and someone has your book in their hand, and you stop them, and you say, oh my god. I had to stop you because that’s my book that you’re holding.

Robert Constant [00:32:32]:
And they’re like, what? What are you talking about? No. The the book in your hand, right? See the book? See that book right there? Robert co Robert e Constant? That that’s me. Wait. This is your book? Like, yeah. This this is my book. I had someone do that, and then they started crying. Now let me Wow. Let me explain.

Robert Constant [00:32:57]:
It wasn’t they were crying because of, woah, Robert Constant. No. They were crying because they had just lost their mother, and they took the book. They were trying to decide whether to buy it because they wanted to she wanted to read it to her kids. But she was like, may it might be too early for me to read this book because this is fresh, you know, and and she just died. And so but she wanted to read a book about grandmothers because her kids, that’s their grandmother, you know. Although it’s her mother, it’s their kid’s grandmother. They lost their grandmother too, so, you know, it’s like she wanted to read it.

Robert Constant [00:33:39]:
And so she said, I was going back and forth. I had it in my hand, and then you come up to me, and you’re like, this is my book. Well, I think my I think I got my answer. And, you know, can you sign the book? And so I signed it and, you know, and she was just like, this is crazy. And I was like, it really is. And I had to I had to keep it together because how freaky was that? You know? Like, how freaky was that? So when you walk away and you get on the plane to go back to back home, you’re thinking to yourself like, I could work 30 years and something like that might never happen Yeah. Ever, where someone is so touched by something that you created. Right? It’s pretty deep.

Robert Constant [00:34:25]:
So, you know, I share that to say sometimes, you know, you’ve gotta follow your dreams and, you know, I need to take my own advice sometimes.

Nancy Norbeck [00:34:35]:
Yeah. You never you never know where something that you just feel pulled to create. Yeah. That seems like, you know, a trivial thing to you at the time that that you don’t know that it’s gonna go anywhere at all. I mean, I I could say the same thing about this podcast. I didn’t know that it was gonna go anywhere other than, you know, the iPad that I recorded my first interview on. Right? Yep. Or the closet that I’m still sitting in right now to do this this conversation

Robert Constant [00:35:06]:
with you. Works.

Nancy Norbeck [00:35:07]:
It works beautifully. It works. And people don’t start because they think they need a fancy space. Right? I’ve been doing this for No.

Robert Constant [00:35:15]:
See, it

Nancy Norbeck [00:35:15]:
has to years now. Right? But you you don’t know where it’s gonna take you.

Robert Constant [00:35:20]:
You don’t. You don’t.

Nancy Norbeck [00:35:21]:
And you end up with the most unbelievable situations that you never could have dreamed of.

Robert Constant [00:35:30]:
Yeah. And that’s exactly it. Like, you just don’t know where it’s gonna go. And I think some people use that as a crutch to say, well, I I don’t wanna try it because I don’t know where it’s gonna go, and I need to know. And it’s like, no. That’s not how the world works. Uh-huh. You gotta put it out there and then you go for it and see what happens.

Robert Constant [00:35:49]:
And that’s what’s exciting about life. Yeah. It’s it’s not knowing. Like, imagine you already had the answers. You’re like, okay. So we’re gonna at the end of the day, I know where I’m gonna end up. Like, what’s the fun in that? You know, you wanna look back and go, if you would have asked me 10 years ago, would I be here? I I love when I hear people say, nope. I would’ve said no.

Robert Constant [00:36:12]:
No. I would’ve bet you everything. Yeah. Everything. You know? I would’ve bet you everything. I mean, I

Nancy Norbeck [00:36:19]:
go And if you had asked me when I started this podcast, you know, did I think that anybody would listen to it? I’d have been like, yeah. Maybe my handful of friends and, like, my sister-in-law. Right?

Robert Constant [00:36:32]:
Yeah.

Nancy Norbeck [00:36:33]:
And Yeah. Maybe my mom. But Yeah. Like, I I the last time I looked, like, there there have been people who’ve listened to this thing in, like, 63 different countries. What?

Robert Constant [00:36:44]:
Crazy. It’s crazy. You know?

Nancy Norbeck [00:36:46]:
If if it had been limited to what I could have imagined

Robert Constant [00:36:50]:
Mhmm.

Nancy Norbeck [00:36:50]:
It would have been so much less interesting than the reality of it. And, I mean, I’m probably never gonna meet the people in those 63 countries. Thank you for listening, people in those 63 countries. I love you even though I will never know who you are. But, you know, I mean, that’s so cool. How could I ever I never could have. And the same thing could happen to you who people in all of those 63 countries, or maybe it’s 67 now. I don’t know.

Robert Constant [00:37:18]:
Mhmm.

Nancy Norbeck [00:37:18]:
But, you know, you just you just don’t know. And when you leave the possibility open and go do something anyway Yes. It it takes on a life of its own, and that’s what’s so cool about it.

Robert Constant [00:37:30]:
Yep. And that’s and that’s the universe’s sign that, look, we we got you, but you gotta you you gotta put it out there. You gotta help yourself. You know? That’s that’s what it is. The universe is like, look. We’ll we’ll do our part, but you gotta decide for yourself.

Nancy Norbeck [00:37:47]:
You gotta believe in yourself first.

Robert Constant [00:37:49]:
I gotta believe in myself and do it. And then the universe says, okay. Alright. I you you you’re serious about this. So we’re gonna throw you a bone, and we’re gonna throw you just enough that makes you go, wait. I mean, think about think about that. When I opened my I’ll share the story. I opened my book.

Robert Constant [00:38:10]:
I did my unboxing because everybody was like, you gotta do unboxing. I did unboxing. It was, like, November 26 of 2,018. 18. No. Yeah. 18. And we were in Rochester, the books had arrived and, you know, I was like, okay.

Robert Constant [00:38:39]:
We’re gonna open it and we just, you know, we’re just gonna we’re gonna film it and, you know, we’ll we’ll post it. And so when the books came, they’re filming now. So we had some Tuskegee music in the background. And so I opened it up and, you know, I was just expecting to open it up and just, you know, see the book. I’ve seen it a 1,000 times as far as, you know, online. And but when I opened it up and I saw that book with my name on it, it was a it was a look of pride that, you know, when you’ve done something that you just you’re just so full and happy that you almost don’t have a reaction to it because you’re just like, oh my goodness. And that’s kinda how it was looking. I opened it up and I was like and I just held it up and I was like and we posted that video.

Robert Constant [00:39:40]:
It went viral.

Nancy Norbeck [00:39:41]:
It’s a religious experience the first time you see your own book.

Robert Constant [00:39:45]:
It went viral.

Nancy Norbeck [00:39:46]:
No better description. I’m not surprised it did. Yeah.

Robert Constant [00:39:49]:
I was like, what the they were like, Robert, where’s the where where can I get this book? And then we go online, like, I don’t even know this stuff. Like, I’m on Amazon, and I was looking at something else. And then I see my book, like, on a page. I’m like, wait a minute. That’s what what is this? It was the rankings. So my book was in the top, you know, a 100. It wasn’t, like, number 2, number 3 on Amazon. I’m like, what the what the hell is like, dude.

Robert Constant [00:40:20]:
So that’s, like I said, that’s the universe like, well, you know, when you believe in yourself, we’ll have we’ll we’ll we’ll throw your bone. And and that was my bone to say, guess what? You know what? I made the right decision and I’m gonna continue to do it. And it gave me the confidence to do, 2 more books and we’re gonna try to get another one kicked out soon. So Yeah. Yeah. So what’s it about?

Nancy Norbeck [00:40:46]:
Yeah. No. I I I so relate to that that feeling though. Because the first time I saw my book when I got the proof copy, I was just like, oh,

Robert Constant [00:40:57]:
it’s an actual walk. It takes your breath away.

Nancy Norbeck [00:41:00]:
It’s a real thing. It looks like a book. It walks like a book. It talks like a book. It quacks like a book.

Robert Constant [00:41:07]:
Yep. Yep. It takes your breath away.

Nancy Norbeck [00:41:10]:
Yeah. I mean, you’ve seen you’ve seen the words a million times. You’ve seen the covers. You’ve seen the whole thing, but it has never looked like an actual real

Robert Constant [00:41:20]:
Nope.

Nancy Norbeck [00:41:20]:
Book Nope. Before. Nope. And there’s there’s nothing quite quite like

Robert Constant [00:41:26]:
it. Nothing quite like it. You know? It’s ready to be given to someone and, you know, when people say, oh my gosh. I gave your book out. We went to Baltimore, Tuskegee alumni. They got, like, 300 alumni down there, which is a lot for a small school like us. And someone came to my wife, Sherette, and was like, hey. How much are the books? She was like, 15.

Robert Constant [00:41:50]:
And the lady said, okay. Cool. Let me get a box. And so was like she was like, I’m I’m sorry? She was like, I need to get a box of of books. So was like, what do you what do you mean? I how many are in the box? You know, like, she’s breaking it down for Sherette. Like, how many are in the box? Sherette’s like, 24. She was like, I need 24 books. I need a box.

Robert Constant [00:42:28]:
And so she was just like, oh. Oh. Oh. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Well, yeah.

Robert Constant [00:42:34]:
We’ll we’ll we’ll get you know, but she was just so shocked because it’s like, you’re gonna buy a box Right. Of my husband’s books, like a box? You know? And so that’s the kind of thing that you just you’re just like, wow. It’s just overwhelming. It it it can be. It can be. So Yeah. All good. Yeah.

Robert Constant [00:42:52]:
All good stuff.

Nancy Norbeck [00:42:53]:
Well and I wanna go back to what you were talking about a couple minutes ago when you were talking about, you know, being up until 2 AM working on something and and that level of energy because because it’s come up before, but it’s been a while with with that kind of situation because there there is something that people don’t realize, and and it’s that when when you haven’t been doing your creative thing, whether whatever it is, whether it’s drawing, painting, dancing, writing, whatever it is Yep. And you feel exhausted, and therefore you don’t think that you have the energy to do it, you actually have it backwards.

Robert Constant [00:43:36]:
Yes.

Nancy Norbeck [00:43:37]:
Because doing your creativity in whatever form is where you get the energy from. And when you haven’t done it in a while, that sounds really counterintuitive. Yes. But, the, the 2 guests that come to mind right off the top of my head who both talked about this, Dave Spencer is an illustrator, and I talked to him way, way back in the 1st year. And he, like you, would, you know, come home from work, put his kids to bed, and all that stuff, and then be up till 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning doing his stuff Yep. Because he was so jazzed that he didn’t wanna go to sleep. And I have to throw in the caveat that we are not recommending sleep deprivation here.

Robert Constant [00:44:16]:
No. No. We’re not. At all. We’re not.

Nancy Norbeck [00:44:19]:
But but that can happen. And Kelly Flanagan, the first time that I talked with him, he is a therapist, and he’s the one who said, you know, this is where you get your energy and people get this backwards. And so the more that you do your creative thing, the more energy you have. And and I really think that it’s it’s not it’s not even just that. It’s that our creativity is where we get our sense of aliveness from.

Robert Constant [00:44:42]:
Yes.

Nancy Norbeck [00:44:43]:
And so, you know, if you’re not feeling like you’re really feeling fully alive, you probably need to throw some more creativity into your life.

Robert Constant [00:44:53]:
Yes. You do.

Nancy Norbeck [00:44:53]:
And and it will start to come back. It may it may take a little while to get the momentum going, but it’ll start to come back. And I think it’s good to remind people of that every once in a while. So I’m really You

Robert Constant [00:45:05]:
got to.

Nancy Norbeck [00:45:05]:
Glad that you brought that up.

Robert Constant [00:45:07]:
Yeah. No problem. It’s like a faucet. Once it’s running, it’s it’s going. And you want those creative juices going. You wanna feel alive. It’s interesting you say that because one of the things that I love about my new role and don’t get me wrong, I loved being in the town of Princeton, a place with so much history. There’s no question.

Robert Constant [00:45:27]:
Like, you can’t you can’t say that going to Princeton is not an experience. It absolutely is. Like, just being there knowing that, you you’re around some of the oldest buildings in the country. I mean, you know, like, we’re we’re it’s that’s that’s what’s very unique. And if you enjoy and respect history like I do, you you’re kinda like, this is kinda this is kinda neat, you know. How many movies have been shot here? Lots, you know. You know, a lot lots of it. But what I love about being in the city in New York is there’s just a vibe that you you cannot duplicate.

Robert Constant [00:46:06]:
Like, there’s just a aliveness to it whether, you know, people are excited about what they do or not. When you get in a city, it’s just buzzing, you know. And I love being in those sort of environments. And I I I love that. And the the trip to, NYU and the trip back from NYU was allowing me to give a lot of thought, and it’s giving me chance to think, differently about, you know, what I wanna do with my books and where I wanna take them. You know? Because like I said, I’ve got a couple of them lined up in my mind, and I’ve written down some stuff too, but we’ve gotta get them out. You know, you don’t wanna keep them locked up in your brain because you might have something that’s forget award winning. You might have something that maybe changes someone’s perspective or Right.

Robert Constant [00:46:59]:
Their life. And and that’s what it’s all about. Like, it’s about sharing what you believe you’ve been given, you know, those gifts. And I didn’t see it as a gift, and sometimes I still don’t see it as a gift. But when when people are buying your book right, when people are buying your book, it says that you’re doing something. When 67 folks outside of the country are listening to you, 7 you know, 67 different countries, my my son is a a artist and a producer, and I get I get the statements. And I’m I look in Singapore, Vietnam, you know, Belize, you know, Jamaica, you know, the UK, Croatia. You’re like, okay.

Robert Constant [00:47:48]:
I don’t wait. Are you telling me that people from those countries are buying this music? And it’s like, yep. Yeah. And this and this is where they found it. Some was on Facebook. Some was on this social media. Some was online. Some was on this web you know, some yeah.

Robert Constant [00:48:04]:
It’s just amazing. You’re like, oh my god. So, you know, I I think this is a the best time for entrepreneurs ever. Ever. You wanna be entrepreneur, you wanna be a filmmaker, like, take out your phone, do your thing, and go have at it, you know? And that I think that’s so beautiful. I think that’s a a beautiful thing. So you gotta go for you gotta go for what makes you happy and what makes you feel alive. And when I’m doing my when I’m doing my, signings and I’m speaking to folks about my books, I’m probably the happiest that I can be.

Robert Constant [00:48:42]:
Like, I’m at maximum happiness. And, yes, some people will say, Robert Wroe, you know, you’re kinda vain. You like all the attention. And and there’s some truth to some of that. But at the same time, I know that I’m doing something that I just enjoy doing and others are enjoying it. But, you know, so what’s how could that be wrong?

Nancy Norbeck [00:49:07]:
Yeah. And you’re sharing something that means something to you that’s meaning something to somebody else.

Robert Constant [00:49:12]:
That’s right. That’s right.

Nancy Norbeck [00:49:13]:
You know? How how is that not not to keep beating the word to death, but how is that not a meaningful thing for everybody?

Robert Constant [00:49:21]:
Yeah. It’s gotta be. It’s gotta be. Yeah. That’s what I say.

Nancy Norbeck [00:49:25]:
And you’re absolutely right. I mean, everybody can make a movie now. Everybody has

Robert Constant [00:49:29]:
Oh, there’s no question.

Nancy Norbeck [00:49:30]:
An amazing film camera in their pocket.

Robert Constant [00:49:32]:
Yes. Right in their pocket. Right in their pocket. Yep. Like, I think about some of our greatest, you know, producers and filmmakers. Was that Francis Ford Coppola? I mean, imagine when he was 12, 13. Hey. Here’s here’s a here’s a phone you can film.

Robert Constant [00:49:55]:
You can make your own film. What?

Nancy Norbeck [00:49:58]:
Right.

Robert Constant [00:49:58]:
And you can you can download the editing software, and you could you could just do the whole thing. You could do a 7 minute film. You could be done in in 7 days. Like, what? Yeah. Like yeah. We we are so fortunate.

Nancy Norbeck [00:50:13]:
Right.

Robert Constant [00:50:14]:
You know, there’s there’s there’s a lot of negatives that come with, you know, the technology, but from a creative standpoint, man. Wow.

Nancy Norbeck [00:50:21]:
And there are a lot of people who will say, yeah, but that means that a lot of crappy movies get made. Yeah. But you know what? A lot of crappy movies get made regardless.

Robert Constant [00:50:28]:
Regardless. Regardless.

Nancy Norbeck [00:50:30]:
But, you know, do you think that the first movie that Francis Ford Coppola made was an Oscar winner? No. No. You know, everybody starts somewhere. Everybody makes bad stuff before they make good stuff.

Robert Constant [00:50:42]:
That’s the beauty of it, though. That’s that’s what makes it great. That’s how you learn and that’s how you know you’re dealing with humans. Like, man, you hate that movie? That was terrible. But you created a masterpiece.

Nancy Norbeck [00:50:55]:
And you had the guts to try.

Robert Constant [00:50:57]:
And you had the guts to try. You gotta have the guts. Like, you know, let’s talk about guts. You got that’s something that you gotta be brave. You know? Mhmm. Our country is the home of the brave. You gotta be brave. Right? Like, you gotta be brave.

Robert Constant [00:51:13]:
You gotta fight for what you want. And I think you gotta fight for for you. And I would encourage anybody who’s listening to fight for what you believe is right, but fight for fight for yourself so that you can take ownership of your life. You know, I I know lots of people who just don’t feel like they’re in control. They feel like I wake up on Monday and I go to work and it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, blah blah blah. And I’m looking for the weekend and then, oh my god. It’s Monday again. I mean, think about that.

Robert Constant [00:51:46]:
Think about doing that for 30 years. That does not sound like fun. I’m sorry. Right? It’s not to it’s it’s not to make anyone feel horrible if they’re in a job that they don’t like, but think about that. I mean, time adds up. It adds up. I was at Princeton for 6 years, and people were like, man. Like, at NYU, they’re like, man, that’s a nice bit of time.

Robert Constant [00:52:10]:
And I’m like, it’s only 6 years. But the truth is 6 years is 6 years. It is. So, you know, it adds up, and it certainly didn’t feel like 6 years. It felt like

Nancy Norbeck [00:52:22]:
It goes in a hurry.

Robert Constant [00:52:23]:
It goes quickly. It goes you go from being like, I’m new. I’m new. I’m new until, like, I’m here 6 years. Like, what? Well, it’s a huge

Nancy Norbeck [00:52:34]:
Yeah. Yeah. It makes me think of that that quote that I think I first heard in dead poet society. So I think it’s Thoreau, that could be I could be completely wrong about that, that, you know, about not wanting to come to the end of your life and finding out that you hadn’t lived it.

Robert Constant [00:52:48]:
Mhmm. There’s a lot of life to be lived. Yeah. I I think some folks are taking, you know, the shortcut and and not seeing life for what it truly is. It’s it’s an opportunity to create the sort of painting that you want. You got to brush. Right. Go ahead and brush it.

Robert Constant [00:53:09]:
There’s no right way. There’s not no. You gotta well, should I do start with the left? So what what color should it doesn’t matter. You do what you feel like doing, and and you will get more satisfaction from that than anything else. And that’s what the book has done the books have done for me. It’s given me just a personal satisfaction and accomplishment to where I don’t need someone to say, Robert Constant, you’re doing a great job. I don’t need that anymore. You know? Yeah.

Robert Constant [00:53:37]:
I used to live live for that. I used to be like, tell me I’m doing a great job because I need to I need to know that I’m doing a great job. And it’s like, I don’t need that. You know, you don’t have to validate me anymore. I validate myself through my work, and I think that my audiences have validated what I have done. And so I feel accomplished just by the mere fact that people said I love your book. That’s all I need. I don’t need an award.

Robert Constant [00:54:04]:
That’s the that’s the reward Yeah. Is I love your book. Oh my god. I bought your book, and it’s on my daughter’s and I put it up. It’s up there. Yes. I love it. When’s your next book coming up? You know? You’re like, wow.

Robert Constant [00:54:18]:
That

Nancy Norbeck [00:54:18]:
is so beautiful.

Robert Constant [00:54:20]:
Yeah. So

Nancy Norbeck [00:54:21]:
because that is what it’s all about. And and, you know, I I always I I so often say to creative people, like, the only right way is your way. Mhmm. You know? I wouldn’t say that to a nuclear scientist. Right? No. Obviously, nuclear physics, there’s a right way and there’s a wrong way. But Yes. But when you’re writing or when you’re painting, like, yeah, there there may be a recommended way to Sure.

Nancy Norbeck [00:54:46]:
You know, come up with a a character or a plot or whatever.

Robert Constant [00:54:50]:
Yeah.

Nancy Norbeck [00:54:50]:
But, like, I don’t come up with a plot at all. I come up with characters and let them tell me what they wanna do. And

Robert Constant [00:54:56]:
That’s true.

Nancy Norbeck [00:54:56]:
You know, there are people who tell me that you can’t write a book that way, which I find amusing because I’ve done it. But it Yeah. You know? I mean, they can write their book their way. I’ll write my book my way. And as long as we both end up with a book

Robert Constant [00:55:07]:
That’s right.

Nancy Norbeck [00:55:08]:
It doesn’t matter. And and so matter. You know, the more important thing is that you find the way that works for you so that you do it.

Robert Constant [00:55:15]:
That’s right.

Nancy Norbeck [00:55:16]:
Because if you’re forcing yourself into somebody else’s way, you won’t do it.

Robert Constant [00:55:20]:
You you you won’t, and it’s just not authentic. And people can step out when you’re being inauthentic. Oh, absolutely. You you you’re not doing you. Like, you gotta do you. You can’t do somebody else. Like, there are other these other offers I’m like, oh, I wanna sound. I wanna no.

Robert Constant [00:55:39]:
It’s like, you know what? I’m gonna do my thing. And when I put, hey, Tuskegee after every, you know, on on every page, hey, Tuskegee. People are like, woah, that’s we don’t normally do that. And I was like, I don’t care. It’s my book. I who cares? Like, what’s I don’t I don’t care about any rules. This is my book. And if other people love it, then that’s that’s it.

Robert Constant [00:56:02]:
You know, one of my favorite artists of all time, and one of my favorite groups, my artists, and and he was part of this group, earth, wind, and fire, Maurice White. Right? He I remember he was because I read his book, and he was talking to one of the, writers that he brought on to help him write some of these iconic songs. And she asked him a question like, listen. I just, you know, I just wanna ask you this one question. What does Baria mean? Baria Baria. Baria. She was like, what does what does that mean? And And he’s like, what do you mean? What does it mean? Doesn’t mean a thing. It’s a feel.

Robert Constant [00:56:48]:
Does it sound good? Do the people like it? There you go. It’s all good, man. Whatever you it it can mean whatever you want, but it’s something that we created. It’s like it’s like scatting. You know? What what are you saying? There’s there’s no words to it. It’s it’s it’s a field. It’s a adlib. It’s an adlib.

Robert Constant [00:57:09]:
Right? You know? So we we we know adlibs are important in songs.

Nancy Norbeck [00:57:14]:
Yeah.

Robert Constant [00:57:15]:
So Yeah. Yep.

Nancy Norbeck [00:57:17]:
And and as you were saying, you know, if you’re if you’re too busy trying to be somebody else, you’re also working really hard. It is way harder to try to be somebody else than it is to be you.

Robert Constant [00:57:26]:
Yeah. It just doesn’t it just doesn’t work. I’ve tried it. I’m telling you. I’m talking about I’ve tried to sound like certain people. I’ve tried to walk like certain people. I’ve tried to act like certain people. And at the end of the day, I always come back to Robert because that’s what I know.

Robert Constant [00:57:42]:
I can do Robert better than anybody else. I can play Robert Constant better than anybody else.

Nancy Norbeck [00:57:47]:
Yeah. I mean, it could be fun. You know, like, to do an impression of somebody. That’s one thing. Yeah. But you don’t wanna live there.

Robert Constant [00:57:55]:
No. Definitely not trying to live there, you know, because it’s just it’s just not right. You know? Yeah.

Nancy Norbeck [00:58:02]:
Yeah. It’s easier, and it’s more fun.

Robert Constant [00:58:05]:
That is definitely more fun.

Nancy Norbeck [00:58:06]:
More fun.

Robert Constant [00:58:07]:
Gotta have fun.

Nancy Norbeck [00:58:09]:
Yeah.

Robert Constant [00:58:10]:
Gotta have fun. I mean, what’s life without having some fun? Like, I couldn’t imagine going through life. I I’ve met I’ve met people who are just so intense, and people are like, oh, man. He’s intense. Like like, that’s something to to really acknowledge and and want to emulate. It’s like, what? Like, when they when they smile, you can always tell. You can always tell who they are because if you’re you take a picture with somebody, and they’re like,

Nancy Norbeck [00:58:41]:
you know, they’re really hard.

Robert Constant [00:58:44]:
Way hard to smile. Like, a smile should be, you know, not like you like, you’re not used to smiling. You know?

Nancy Norbeck [00:58:51]:
Yeah. If you’re grimacing when you’re smiling

Robert Constant [00:58:53]:
Yeah.

Nancy Norbeck [00:58:53]:
You’re you’re doing it wrong.

Robert Constant [00:58:55]:
I know I know people like that who would just, you know, you’re like, do you do you know how to do you know how to smile? Oh, man. You know, they walk around with a scowl in the face. You know, like, my god. You do that for years years years. It took to me, it takes it takes years off of your life. And they they tell everyone, when you laugh, it adds years to your life. You have to laugh. I laugh every I pretty much I do 1 or 2 things every day.

Robert Constant [00:59:23]:
I laugh for sure, and I probably cry, like, at least 2, 3 times. I moved to tears between this the the other day, something happened. It was oh, it was I was watching a clip from Bill Cosby, the Bill Cosby show. It was the daughter, Vanessa. It was a scene when she went out with her friends and and they got in trouble. The car got stolen, and it was a big old thing because she lied to her parents and then she got back. Her mom, Claire, just chewed her out. And she got in her face in the scene.

Robert Constant [01:00:01]:
She wasn’t supposed to do that. And she just screamed, shut up. And the character Vanessa just starts crying, and that wasn’t in the script. And then afterwards, they found each other and hugged, and she held her tight and just clear said, you know, Felicia Rosati said, I always knew you had it in you. You can do this. And I’m just glad that the actor in you came out because that was excellent. Wow. I was I was just like, dang.

Robert Constant [01:00:31]:
Like, imagine someone like Phylicia Rashad sharing that with you. Like, that just made me tear up because I think we all want we all want to perform at our best. But I think the acknowledgment of someone who is considered, you know, at the top of their game, telling you that, you know what? You got skills. That is that is a oh my god. That that hits you right there. Like, again, who needs an award when you get acknowledged? You know, when someone says someone who’s at the top of their game, like, you got it.

Nancy Norbeck [01:01:06]:
I’ve got goosebumps just listening to you tell this story.

Robert Constant [01:01:10]:
Yeah. Yeah. It was it it got me this morning. I was just like, man. So, yeah, those those are the sort of things that I I love to I love to see and and hear. I love those kind of things. Yep.

Nancy Norbeck [01:01:22]:
Yeah. Oh, wow. Yep. That’s that stuff is where it’s at. And that’s the stuff that makes us feel and reminds us that we are alive.

Robert Constant [01:01:35]:
No question.

Nancy Norbeck [01:01:37]:
That’s it.

Robert Constant [01:01:37]:
No question. No question about it. No question about it. You gotta be gotta be alive to

Nancy Norbeck [01:01:44]:
enjoy it. Yeah. That’s why we’re here.

Robert Constant [01:01:46]:
You by.

Nancy Norbeck [01:01:47]:
I mean, I am not a philosopher, and I am not qualified to answer anything more about why we are alive except we’re here to be alive, which

Robert Constant [01:01:56]:
to be alive.

Nancy Norbeck [01:01:57]:
Seems obvious, but I think sometimes we miss that. So We do.

Robert Constant [01:02:01]:
We do.

Nancy Norbeck [01:02:02]:
So I hope that anybody who’s been listening to to this is inspired to go out and put at least at least 5% more aliveness into their everyday and see what happens. And hopefully over time, add a little bit more and a little bit more and a little bit more. Yeah.

Robert Constant [01:02:19]:
A little bit more. Yeah. Especially especially if you’re if if you know you’re just not happy in your current situation, you know, if you feel like there’s something missing because that’s how I I felt. I felt like there’s there’s some I don’t know if it is, but the, you know, work is good, family’s good, but there’s something missing. And I basically had to be out of work for a year for it to hit me over the head like Yeah. Dude. You need to use your creative, you know, freedom now. This is your time.

Robert Constant [01:02:53]:
And it was like, oh my god. I’ve been complaining. And I mean, god has given me this this gift, actually. You know? I I’m I was able to still live. So, yeah, I wasn’t gonna we weren’t gonna be kicked out of our house, but I was given the the the gift of time. Yeah. And so I used it. I used that time to take my son to museums and stuff.

Robert Constant [01:03:19]:
We spent a lot of time together. And I said, you know what? When I get home, I’m gonna write. And that’s what we did. So never regretted it once. So it made made a lot of sense. At the time, you’re like, I wanna be working, and you kinda felt like a chump because you’re not working. But now it’s like, I see what that was all about. And I’m so grateful that I had that time because I can’t get it back.

Nancy Norbeck [01:03:45]:
That’s right. That’s right. I’m grateful that you did too, and I think there are a lot of a lot of kids and readers who are grateful too.

Robert Constant [01:03:54]:
Yeah. Hopefully. Yeah. Well, thank you.

Nancy Norbeck [01:03:57]:
Well, thank you for coming and spending this time with me. I’ve really, really enjoyed this conversation.

Robert Constant [01:04:03]:
Same here. Thank you so much for giving us the platform, the opportunity to share a little bit of our story. We’re just happy to do so. So thank you to you and all of your listeners in your 67 or maybe more countries.

Nancy Norbeck [01:04:22]:
That’s this week’s episode. Thanks so much to Robert Constant for joining me and to you for listening. Please leave a review for this episode. There’s a link right in your podcast app, and it can be short and sweet and definitely appreciated. If you know someone who would appreciate this episode, please pass it on. Thank you so much. If this episode resonated with you, or if you’re feeling a little bit less than confident in your creative process right now, join me at the spark on substack as we form a community that supports and celebrates each other’s creative courage. It’s free and it’s also where I’ll be adding programs for subscribers and listeners.

Nancy Norbeck [01:04:59]:
The link is in your podcast app, so sign up today. See you there and see you next week. Follow Your Curiosity is produced by me, Nancy Norbeck, with music by Joseph McDade. If you like Follow Your Curiosity, please subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And don’t forget to tell your friends. It really helps me reach new listeners.