#38 - Hustle w/ Clinton Sparks (Entertainer, Entrepreneur, multi-platinum DJ)

Clinton joins us in an energetic chat about his unique mindset which has removed barriers that have boxed in others and it’s not just about business, it all starts with empathy. Clinton is an entrepreneur, investor, executive, author, and a marketing maven, but is probably best known for being a Grammy nominated multi-platinum DJ, producer and songwriter. 

Transcript

Clinton joins us in an energetic chat about his unique mindset which has removed barriers that have boxed in others and it’s not just about business, it all starts with empathy. Clinton is an entrepreneur, investor, executive, author, and a marketing maven, but is probably best known for being a Grammy nominated multi-platinum DJ, producer and songwriter. 

Transcript

Erol Senel:

Hello everyone and welcome to Success Shorts, I'm Erol Senel. Today we're joined by Clinton Sparks. Clinton is an entrepreneur, investor, executive, author, and a marketing maven. But he's probably best known for being a Grammy nominated multi-platinum DJ producer and songwriter who has partnered with some of music's absolute untouchables. Clinton and I have a lot of fun chatting, and his energy and mindset is absolutely infectious. We explore how his unique mindset has removed barriers that have boxed in others. And if you think this is all about business, you're absolutely wrong, because this all starts with empathy and understanding. I absolutely love this conversation and I know you're going to as well. So I hope you enjoy our time with the man, Clinton Sparks. Let's go.

Erol Senel:

Clinton, thank you so much for joining us.

Clinton Sparks:

Thank you. I appreciate you having me here.

Erol Senel:

I'm absolutely thrilled. I've been aware of you throughout the years. And I know you as this really high energy, high activity guy. And I'm curious to start things off. We've been living in this lockdown world of COVID and I'm wondering how that's impacted you and how you've been channeling your energy during this time.

Clinton Sparks:

Man, I wake up excited every day. I am the guy that changes the energy of the room. Especially coming up as a DJ, it's my job to evoke emotion. So I come in and I command the room and take them on a journey of where I want them to go. So it's part of being a musician and a songwriter and a DJ, you just apply that same theory into music and you go into meetings and you just go in there and get everybody excited or get them pumped up, or change the emotion of the room if it needs to be changed.

Clinton Sparks:

But how I keep myself excited, man, it's just opportunity, the understanding and the clarity that there are no boundaries and no limits to opportunity and the things that are available for you to do to make yourself have a more enriched life. So everyday I wake up excited on how to build and amplify the things I'm working on and how to find other things to help compliment what I'm working on. And also how I can help others, whether they be strangers that are just trying to find their way, or friends or family ,and how I can just add to their lives and help everybody else win. So that's what gets me excited every day, the understanding that there's no limits and that I can just keep winning and keep doing great things and keep helping others be happy.

Erol Senel:

I think that's a phenomenal mindset to have, especially during this time where we need people like you. We need that DJ in our lives to sometimes shake some of the cobwebs off that are caused by all of these external components, be it COVID, be it the social environment that we find ourselves in. You have elections going on, there's all sorts of things that can bog us down. So to have that DJ in our corner I think is super important. So thanks for doing that to you and the people that you surround yourself with, because I'm sure that it's not lost on them.

Clinton Sparks:

Life is pretty much like gambling. And what I mean by that is even when you're having a good run, it's not going to last forever, or, when you're having a bad run, that's not going to last forever. As long as you keep going. That's how I look at life, man. So when I get hit and I get knocked down, I know it's not going to last forever, as long as I keep getting back at the table and keep playing another hand.

Erol Senel:

I love that comparison. So moving on from that, I mean, you've definitely been around and you've had this really incredible career so far, and you're still so young that it only has room to grow. But beyond just the music component, you are the epitome of hustle. I mean, you're the CEO and co-founder of Get Familiar, Inc, and then you have to Get Familiar Tech, and you have Xset, which is that lifestyle gaming brand.

Clinton Sparks:

Xset is the fastest growing esports and lifestyle gaming brand in the world.

Erol Senel:

I saw that, and I got to dig into that a little bit, and I'm like, "Holy shit, this is a whole new world." Quite honestly, I'm not a gamer, so I wasn't aware of that, but that was really fascinating to read about some of the write-ups on that.

Clinton Sparks:

Prior to that, I was the VP of business development at FaZe Clan, which is the world's largest, most recognized brand in esports and gaming. And I was there from the beginning of us building the business out of it. Prior to that, it was a bunch of kids that were just really popular online for trick shooting and gaming and creating content, but they didn't have any business. So we came in and we built a business. We took it from zero to $240 million valuation and brought in some of the biggest brands, biggest investors, biggest celebrities. And then we did that for two and a half years, and then me, the president, and the head of merchandise and licensing, we all left to start Xset.

Clinton Sparks:

Because we did it, we built something phenomenal at FaZe already, and then it was just differences of opinions and different views on things that needed to be done in the esports and gaming world that we decided to leave and go start something that was more focused on diversity and inclusion and really intersecting different industries and sectors and brands in this industry. Because I've been shaping and shifting culture for over 15 years, so I clearly understand how to intertwine and collide cultures. So we wanted to do that more without any restraints. So that's what we're doing with Xset man, so far we're kicking ass. And as you just said, we're in the press every week and we have so many more announcements coming up. I'm excited for the future.

Erol Senel:

That's really great. And it's always good to have an exit strategy too. I mean, you build something great, get out of there and build something great again. And that seems to be a big part of your M.O.

Clinton Sparks:

Here's one thing that I've said last year when I was in a heated argument with somebody. I was like, "Listen, I bring value to this brand. I am the one that can help amplify and uplift the things that we're doing. I am the one that can bring in other things to blow this up. You need me, I don't need you. However, you, without this brand and being connected to it, aren't me. I can leave and I'm still going to win. You need this, I don't. You need me." So you put yourself into a position where you're never reliant or leaning on something else to make you you, or to keep you succeeding or winning. When you build yourself as the value, then you're valuable forever. It's not dependent on something that you're connected to or that you work for or work with.

Erol Senel:

Right. That's a huge point that I think people should really hear, is if you identify too much with something outside of yourself and that's where you get your value from, that could be taken away from you real quick, then where do you stand? And that aspirational mindset, that hustle and that self-worth that you have is amazing. So I'm curious, so where did you develop this mindset? Where did this work ethic and hustle, but also self-belief come from initially?

Clinton Sparks:

We all have our stories of growing up and things that affected us, whether it was trauma or lack of love or whatever it was when you were young, that then develops you to become the person that you become. Some people go the right way, some people go the wrong way. So my father was an alcoholic and left when we were young and I seen my mother struggle. And I was very analytical. Ever since I was young I would always watch people. I grew up in tough neighborhood. So I would analyze everything from, "Why is that dude be a dick all the time?" Or, "Why does my dad not pay child support?" Or, "Why is this kid being a bully to that person?" Or, "Why is this guy sexually abusing me?" So I would always question and wonder.

Clinton Sparks:

And then when I would dive deep into that, since I was young, I would start picking apart people's psychology and realizing the things that happen to them or the tools that they don't have in their toolbox to help them become better or get over things that happened in their past. Because everybody has something that happened in the past, right? Even my dad, for instance, when he left I resented him most of my childhood until my mom sent me with him when I was 15 and I went to live with him and there was this one thing he used to say to me when I would get into trouble, and he would say, "I didn't raise you that way." And I used to get pissed off, I'd be like, "You didn't fucking raise me, dude. You didn't raise me." So then at 18 we had a huge fight and I was like, "I'm going to be a way better father than you are when I grow up." He was like, "Yeah, you'll see, life happens."

Clinton Sparks:

So I didn't talk to him for several years, and after a couple of years went by I started thinking about him. What I'm about to say right now was the key to me, I figured out the key to life in this moment. So I thought to myself, "What happened to my dad when he was young that didn't allow him to be the man that I needed him to be as a father?" And when I took the time to care about asking that question and then even more so, looking for the answer. When I realized the answer was he had a horrible childhood, his dad used to beat the shit out of him, and his mom wasn't good to him, and he was sexually abused. Then he got sent to Vietnam and then all these bad things happened to him that made me realize, "Man, how could he be a good dad at 23 years old with all these things he's carrying around with him?"

Clinton Sparks:

And my resentment turned into empathy. And as soon as I felt empathy, I went back to him and I told him I understand and we hugged and we've been best friends ever since. And I developed a really strong relationship with my father. But if you apply that same theory, whether you have a dickhead boss or whether you're doing a business deal with someone and they're being really difficult, or you're in a relationship and that person just doesn't communicate the way you need them to, everybody's affected by the way that they grew up or the influence that they had growing up. People can change. But guess what's even more important? You can change.

Clinton Sparks:

And what I mean about you can change is most people will spend their time ... In the aforementioned examples I just gave, people are like, "My boss is such a jerk. He doesn't listen when I [inaudible 00:09:24]. Or, "My girl or my husband, he doesn't listen to me like this." Instead of keep trying to knock down brick walls with snowballs, doing the same thing and expecting a different result, you have the power to change. So maybe you should listen differently, maybe you should communicate differently. When I see people having fights over the same thing over and over again, it drives me crazy because, especially if you're in a relationship with somebody, most people will say, "Well, maybe if you started listening. Well, maybe if you didn't do this, or maybe if you didn't do ... "

Clinton Sparks:

It's like, dude, you have all the information to win. You know their trigger words, you know how they communicate, you know how they receive your information, you know what bothers them. So really you're the loser, and you're the one that should be looking in the mirror saying you should change because you have all the information. And if you have the tools and you're equipped to understand what's wrong with them and point out the bad in them or the deficiencies that they have in your opinion, then you should be able to do the same thing for yourself.

Clinton Sparks:

And the moment that you can look at yourself and realize how you are in control of changes. So if you take responsibility for everything that goes wrong, guess what? You can fix everything, because you assumed responsibility. Stop blaming other people. I mean, that's pretty much my rule of thumb. And I know that was a lengthy answer, but I was just giving you the mentality of how I've formed my way of thinking from my youth to come to now, and how it's gotten me tremendous success in everything that I do because of my mentality and the way that I think.

Erol Senel:

I mean, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but you've just empowered yourself to be the person that takes charge in your own life. You don't allow that person to dictate how that relationship runs. You decided to change within that and to see it through a different lens. That almost, in some ways removes your ego, because it allows you different ways to look at how you approach different aspects of your life. And you know that you'll be able to handle it one way or the other instead of trying to look at it through the lens of this person needs to handle this. It's no, I need to handle this. Would you say that's correct?

Clinton Sparks:

You just nailed it. I don't have ego or greed, right? So those are two of the biggest enemies in the world, right? And when I was young, when I started becoming what I wanted to become, the business of Clinton Sparks, at an early age, I separated myself from the brand Clinton Sparks. Therefore, I could remove and detach my emotions. So if someone didn't like what I was doing, I didn't take it personally. And if somebody did like what I was doing, it didn't go to my head. So I always looked at myself as the CEO of the brand or the business of Clinton Sparks. And if they didn't like something then I looked at that as market research, I need to improve on that. And if they did love stuff, then I'm like, great, I need to do more of that, or I need to find more people that like that. I mean, it really comes down to building happy and defending happy.

Clinton Sparks:

Here's the problem. People like, "Oh, if I could just find the right girl or guy I'd be happy. If I could just make this much money, I'd be happy. If I can get this job, if I can get that car, if I could do ... " They're always on this never-ending quest of finding happy. Because guess what? Even when you get that car, you're still going to be looking to find more things to make you happy. Even when you find that person, there's going to be unhappy times with that person that you thought was going to be happy all the time. So you're constantly looking for happy.

Clinton Sparks:

I, early on, have given myself the ability to want something, when I get it I'm content, never ever searching for more or wanting it to be better. My wife, right? Are there things that annoy me about her? Of course there's things that are annoying. Are we ever going to butt heads? Of course we're going to butt heads. But guess what? She's everything that I wanted. So guess what, when you get everything you want, sometimes it's also going to come with some things you didn't necessarily want. But you don't worry about that, you just relish in the things that you got that you wanted. Life is so easy, people make it difficult.

Erol Senel:

That's a great point at the end. And as you were saying that, especially about relationships, I had the privilege of speaking to Tal Ben-Shahar, who's a happiness psychologist. He made this one comment and you just reiterated it through what you were just saying. It's like, even though it doesn't feel good, it doesn't mean that anything's wrong. And we're going to come across that many, many times, being in our relationships, at work, and stuff like that. So if we can harness in on that then get back to why we wanted something to begin with, yes, we married this person, things aren't great right now, but remember why you married them. And all of a sudden you can see through, okay, yeah, we're just going through a little bit of turbulence or whatever it is, where this is annoying right now, but I still love person to death.

Clinton Sparks:

Totally. I got a perfect example. I got a buddy of mine, when I was young I was homeless, and him and his mom used to let me stay at their house. And then later on in life, he robbed something from me. And then he ended up unfortunately going on later on and getting arrested and did 12 years in jail. And now he's been out for seven years. He called me recently and asking my help with something he was working on. What he was working on was pretty phenomenal. I was like, why are you calling me now that you're in trouble? Why didn't you call me when you had this popping? He was like, "Man, I was just trying to do it on my own, and I really wanted to succeed, and then I was going to come back and show you." So I was like, "All right, great. Let me figure out how I can help you."

Clinton Sparks:

Now, my wife is like, "Who's this guy?" Because I've only been with my girl for five years, so she doesn't know the history of me and him. So she's like, "Who's he?" and go, "Oh, this is not the guy that called you when he was in jail? Why are you talking to him?" And I said, "Well, because he's a friend of mine." And then she goes, "Didn't he rob from you when you guys were younger?" And I go, "Yeah," and she goes, "Oh, I would never talk to that guy again." She goes, "Why do you care about helping him?" And I go, "Because him and his mother, when I was homeless, let me stay at their house." She goes, "Yeah, but then he robbed from you." And I said, "Yeah, but I don't let the negative thing that he did now erase the positive thing that he did for me."

Clinton Sparks:

So that's just the way that I look at things. Some people may say it can come back and bite you in the ass, but I've done really well in my life with it. And of course there's been people that have done me wrong throughout my life, and I've trusted them too much. But guess what? I always prepare and have myself set up, so that if somebody does disappoint me or somebody does do me wrong, it didn't affect me, because I was already set up for that failure. And as part of the plan of succeeding in life, if you don't plan to fail in your plan to success then you didn't make a proper plan. Because you're always going to have failures. And if you don't know how to prepare with failure when it happens, then you weren't prepared at all.

Erol Senel:

Right. Yeah, because you can't just prepare for things to go well. So true.

Clinton Sparks:

Especially when they never were well for you before, how do you even know what that preparation is? You have failed before, so you already know how to prepare for that.

Erol Senel:

Just building off of that. So you've had success after success, and obviously there's been failures along the way, but you made the comment that you appreciate what you have when you get it, you're content with it. But you also have this very creative side to you as well, that has allowed you to operate in ... This isn't just a music thing for you, this is at everything for you. How did you actually train your brain to be able to explore outside of the box? Because the box does not apply to you, there is no living inside any box.

Clinton Sparks:

I don't think it was a training process. I think it was paying attention, caring about other people and their feelings, seeing what's going on in the world and building myself by design. All the answers are right around you if you just pay attention and care enough to look. Most people want to just complain and have you give them the answers. And then even when you give them the answers, they still don't even absorb them enough to keep moving or changing according to the answers that they appear to be seeking. I just always live my life, do the right thing, do good by people, don't be an asshole, and communicate well.

Clinton Sparks:

The art of communicating is something that I've practiced throughout my whole entire career. And I would always try to calm the room down or talk people off the edge and give them other options. And the art to doing that is really the first thing. Even now, I'm older than a 17 year old, right? So somebody my age has been around for 20 years, a 17 year old kid like, "Well, what do you know? You're an old guy. You're a dad, you don't know." But the second you start the conversation with saying the things that they relate to or the things they care about or what's on their mind, right away they put their guard down, because they know you know what you're talking about. I can't say how many kids like, "Dude, it's like you're in my mind." And I'm like, "Everything's the same."

Clinton Sparks:

You have to really, really care about people in the world and everybody else's feelings and way of thinking. And respect it too, by the way, whether you're left or you're right. Whether you're a different religion, whether ... Whatever it is, I respect and appreciate every way of thinking. I've always said people want to hang around like-minded people because they want their ideas and thoughts endorsed, right? It's why you hang around with friends that like the same thing, do the same thing. So you can have a conversation halfway through, "But you know what I'm talking about?" And they're like, "Yeah, totally, dude."

Clinton Sparks:

I love talking to people that don't think like me, because I already know how to communicate and sell to somebody like me, because I'm me. So if I really want to be effective at communicating and getting across to different people and selling things, I need to know how everybody thinks and why they think that way. And it's even more than just knowing what they think and why. It's really going deeper, and it goes back to what I was just talking about, understanding their past, where they came from and how they've actually become who they become. And that comes with caring.

Erol Senel:

I like how you're framing this, because it's almost as if empathy and active listening and being open-minded as you go into any situation, it's not just a recipe for great relationships and understanding and seeing how you can be of service for others, but that same mindset will apply to how you're going to move through life. Like you were saying, you're doing this by design, it allows you to also see what the universe is providing. A lot of times we'll say, "What's the universe saying to you?" And if you're only looking for what you want to hear, that's all you're going to hear. Whereas if you go into it with an open mind, you're going to seize far more opportunities. And from what I'm hearing from you, that's how you're seeing these other ventures that you're expanding into, is because you approach everything with that mindset.

Clinton Sparks:

I mean, some people look at it as shit, other people look at it as fertilizer.

Erol Senel:

Right. I like that. If you don't mind, I did listen to one other interview that you did. And there was one part that was very touching. And that was, you were speaking about how Everclear's Father of Mine really resonated with you, because of the lack of relationship that you had for that period with your dad. And you've obviously repaired that. And I'm wondering, how has looking back at that time allowed you to pivot into fatherhood and how you approach being a dad with all of these other things going on in the periphery from just the busy life that you live?

Clinton Sparks:

How it made me become a better father is because I never wanted my son or children to feel the way that I felt, bottom line. And that goes with everything. I do not understand or cannot fathom anybody that went through a horrific childhood, because their father was an alcoholic or they beat them or their mother was on drugs, and then they go and do the same thing. Are you an idiot? Don't you know how much that affected you negatively and how much it hurt your feelings? And now you want to go and do the same thing to somebody else that you supposedly care about?

Clinton Sparks:

I mean, it's literally the dumbest thing in the world. And as much as I realize that it's a reality and I understand why they did it, I'll never understand why they choose to do it. It doesn't make any sense. So that is why I have chosen to be a father. I mean, my biggest goals when I was young wasn't to be rich and famous. It was to be a great dad and make people happy. And I've accomplished both of those and continue to work towards them as if I still haven't won the game.

Erol Senel:

I really appreciate you sharing that. When I heard you tell that story, to me it was very endearing, because I had a similar situation with my dad. But the second I had my son I knew what my purpose was in this world. And I would never let him endure the same thing that I went through. And just to hear you say that, and you hear other men saying that, I think this just something that needs to be called out. And I just want to say thank you for being that type of person.

Clinton Sparks:

Yeah, thank you for being a good dad as well.

Erol Senel:

Thanks man. I know we're running up, but I did want to end on one note. Because I mean, you have so much perspective to offer, you really do. I'm really blown away by your success, by your presence, by your mindset around all this that you've shared throughout our conversation today. So I'm curious, everyone out there has the ability to live a really fulfilling life and to hustle and to succeed and to pursue different dreams. With what you've shared in mind, what would be your takeaway to them as to how they could proceed a little bit more mindfully in these endeavors to become successful while still balancing being that great person that you've been able to exemplify?

Clinton Sparks:

Don't make excuses, make reasons, make resolutions, make open lanes and go through them. The other thing I would say too is for those people that, since conversation's been really on mentality and psychology. So what I would say is stop letting shit from your past that wasn't your fault negatively affect you, and take that shit off your back. It's not your fault. You didn't cause it, why you carrying it around? Why? It makes no sense. So even when I was young, I remember my mom was like, "You should probably get some therapy, because this is going to come back and affect you." I'm like, "Why would it affect me? It already happened, it's over." If I broke my leg, when I was 15, I'm not going to cry about it when I'm 35. "Remember that time my leg broke?" I broke my leg and it healed and shit is over.

Clinton Sparks:

So the same thing is with your brain and your heart, you're the one that's holding onto it. It's over, it's the past, and it wasn't your fault. What is your fault, living in it, and reliving it, and blaming it, and thinking about it, and using it as a crutch or an excuse. That's your fault, the action wasn't your fault. Some people will say, "Man, it's going to be a long journey or a long road to healing." No, it is not. It is merely a decision that only you can make. And you can make it right now and your entire life will change.

Erol Senel:

As you said earlier, we have a tendency of complicating things. So if we can make the conscious decision to uncomplicate them, be it by detaching with shit from our past or just removing ego and stuff like that that is the natural creation points for complication, life could be so much more pleasant and fulfilling. And Clinton, this was great, man, I really appreciate you.

Clinton Sparks:

Thank you. I appreciate you too man. Wait, before we go.

Erol Senel:

Sure.

Clinton Sparks:

Don't forget, you want to learn more about this? You want to learn how to win big? Whether it's in the music business or at life or in relationships, I have a brand new book out, it's called Win Big in the Music Business. It's at winbiginmusic.com. And don't think just because it says music business and you're not into the music business or want to be that it's not for you. Because the principles and values that I teach in this book are similar to what we just talked about here and is transferrable to any industry, including your own personal relationships. It's Win Big in the Music Business. Daymond John from Shark Tank, he wrote the foreword for me, and it's available at winbiginmusic.com/getfamiliar.

Erol Senel:

That's fantastic. And I think you've proven that it's not about the music business, it's about life. So I look forward to checking that out myself.

Clinton Sparks:

Thanks buddy.

Erol Senel:

You're very welcome. And that's all we have for this episode of Success Shorts. Hopefully you found today's topic useful and remember, have fun, stay curious and keep it short.