“The perfect moment will always wait for you to make it the now moment.”

Why do we keep waiting for the perfect time to start? In EP.027 of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe explores procrastination, overthinking and the question he has started asking himself whenever he catches himself waiting: why wait?

As an overthinker and overanalyzer, Joe reflects on the difference between thinking something through and becoming stuck waiting for motivation, certainty or the perfect moment. From relationships and telling people how you feel to career decisions, livestreaming and making music, he looks at how choosing to act in the present has shaped some of the most important moments of his life.

The conversation also explores when waiting is actually necessary, the difference between doing something now and rushing it, and why focusing too heavily on the future can stop you from doing the things required to reach it. Joe shares how livestreaming taught him to act in real time, why mistakes can be part of moving forward and how seemingly small decisions in the present led to people and opportunities that changed the direction of his career.

For Joe, doing it now doesn't mean acting recklessly. It means asking whether there is a genuine reason to wait—and when there isn't, choosing action over another day of thinking about it.

Key Discussion Points

(00:00) - Why This Episode Is About Doing It Now

(02:03) - The Question Joe Keeps Asking Himself: Why Wait?

(02:34) - If There's No Reason to Wait, Do It Now

(03:23) - Why Wait to Tell Someone How You Feel?

(04:49) - Stop Waiting for Motivation

(05:19) - Acting in the Present Instead of Just Thinking

(07:05) - The Livestreaming Lesson That Changed Joe's Thinking

(08:36) - Are You Waiting—or Are You Thinking?

(09:43) - There Is No Perfect Time

(11:44) - Why Are You Waiting to Shoot?

(12:32) - When Waiting Turns Into Being Idle

(14:19) - Don't Watch Your Life Go By While You're Waiting

(15:17) - When Waiting Is Actually the Right Decision

(17:31) - Doing It Now vs. Being in a Rush

(20:21) - How “Do It Now” Shaped Joe's Career

(21:22) - Letting Go of the Perfect Plan

(23:07) - When Overthinking Becomes Procrastination

(24:20) - Stop Waiting for the Perfect Moment

(25:44) - The “Right Now” Moments That Changed Joe's Life

(27:38) - Why the Present Moments Have Been the Life-Changing Ones

(30:06) - Getting Too Caught Up in the Future

(32:02) - You Get to Your Future by Being Present

(35:57) - It's Okay to Make a Mistake

(40:17) - What Joe Can Always Do Right Now

(42:01) - The Career Connections That Happened Because Joe Was Present

(44:19) - The Perfect Time Might Already Be Waiting for You

(44:55) - Make the Perfect Moment the Now Moment

(47:20) - Ask Yourself What Happens If You Stop Waiting

(48:45) - Keep Putting Yourself in Present Moments

(50:54) - There Is No Perfect Time Except the Present

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #StopProcrastinating #Overthinking #DoItNow #TakeAction #PersonalGrowth #StopWaiting

“Blood is thicker than water, but a blood clot will kill you before dehydration does.”

What happens when the people who feel most like family aren't the people you're related to? In EP.026 of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe explores chosen family, finding your people and why genuine love, understanding and belonging can sometimes come from the most unexpected relationships.

Inspired by a conversation within his livestream community, this episode begins with Glenda—a woman who found something much deeper than entertainment in a group of people she met online. What started as a place to laugh, talk and escape isolation became a family that checked on her, listened to her and gave her something she genuinely needed.

Joe reflects on the people who have become family throughout his own life, from childhood friends who understood him without explanation to the community that has supported his journey as an independent artist. He shares how these relationships have shaped his career, why being understood matters more than constantly explaining yourself, and how watching his sister's chosen family come together reminded him that family is also something we build.

This isn't about replacing blood relatives. It's about recognising the people who give you room to grow, show up when it matters and provide the love, comfort and stability you need.

Sometimes the family you're given and the family you choose look very different. Both can matter.

Key Discussion Points

(00:00) - Coming Up: Choosing Your Family

(02:00) - Why Joe Wanted to Talk About Chosen Family

(02:51) - Blood Is Thicker Than Water, But What If Blood Hurts?

(06:18) - When a Livestream Community Becomes Something More

(09:04) - How Glenda Found a Family Online

(14:57) - Sometimes This Is the Only Place Someone Feels Loved

(15:30) - Sometimes We Don't Need Solutions, We Need Love

(18:46) - Finding People Who Understand You

(21:13) - The Friend Who Knew Joe Wasn't Okay

(23:49) - When Your Community Becomes Part of Your Family

(28:41) - Choosing to Show Up for the People You Love

(35:29) - Why Chosen Family Matters to an Independent Artist

(36:01) - Building a Livestream Community With TikTok

(41:35) - How Community Culture Grows Through Its Members

(44:26) - When Blood Family and Chosen Family Support Different Dreams

(48:59) - Being Loved Without Having to Explain Yourself

(49:40) - Knowing What It Feels Like to Be Understood

(52:40) - The Childhood Friends Who Became Family

(55:42) - Why Real Friendship Doesn't Require Constant Contact

(59:10) - Surrounding Yourself With What Your Heart Needs

(01:02:46) - What His Sister's Baby Shower Revealed About Family

(01:05:53) - The Beautiful Mix of Blood Family and Chosen Family

(01:06:50) - Finding the Nurturing You Never Had

(01:08:59) - When the Family You're Given Hurts and the Family You Choose Helps You Heal

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #ChosenFamily #FoundFamily #FamilyRelationships #FindingYourPeople #CommunityAndBelonging #PersonalGrowth

EP“It is not a religion and it is not a cult.”

What is Freemasonry actually like from the perspective of someone inside it? In this episode of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe shares his personal experience as a third-degree Master Mason and Junior Warden, explaining why he became a Freemason, what drew him toward Masonry and what the fraternity has meant in his own life.

The conversation explores his long-standing interest in symbolism, mysticism and esoteric knowledge, the process of deciding to petition a lodge, and the unexpected lessons Masonry brought about manhood, masculinity, brotherhood, discipline and personal growth. He also reflects on choosing a lodge, progressing through the first three Masonic degrees, learning ritual and how some of those experiences changed his understanding of himself as a man and a creative.

Later, Joe addresses some of the subjects that frequently create confusion around Freemasonry, including the Scottish Rite and York Rite, the meaning of “occult,” whether Freemasonry is a religion or cult, the use of the Bible and other sacred texts, and how men with different religious beliefs can participate in the fraternity. This isn't presented as a definitive explanation of every branch or Mason's experience, but as Joe's perspective on the organization he joined and what he has learned from being part of it.

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #Freemasonry #Freemason #MasterMason #MasonicLodge #Esotericism #brotherhoodgoals

Key Points

(00:00) - Why We're Talking About Freemasonry

(02:29) - Joe's Role as a Third-Degree Master Mason

(03:23) - Why Joe Decided to Become a Freemason

(06:01) - Symbolism, Mysticism and Esoteric Knowledge

(10:18) - Deciding to Petition a Masonic Lodge

(14:18) - What Joe Wrote on His Masonic Petition

(21:20) - What He Was Looking for in Freemasonry

(24:01) - Freemasonry as a Worldwide Fraternity

(26:31) - What Masonry Taught Joe About Manhood

(30:00) - The Reality of Becoming a Man

(40:08) - Choosing the Right Masonic Lodge

(45:12) - Prince Hall Masonry and Blue Lodge

(47:14) - Going Through the First Three Degrees

(55:02) - What Joe Values Most About Masonry

(57:55) - Masculinity, Creativity and What It Means to Be a Man

(01:08:47) - Challenging a False Idea of Masculinity

(01:13:03) - The Masonic Degrees, Scottish Rite and York Rite

(01:18:10) - Is Freemasonry a Religion or a Cult?

(01:21:45) - What's Inside a Masonic Bible?

(01:25:18) - Freemasonry and Different Religious Beliefs

(01:30:32) - How to Learn More About Your Local Lodge

“You're supposed to win. Go ahead and win.”

What does it actually take to become a winner when failure is part of the process? In this episode of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe explores his relationship with winning, losing and competition—and how years of setbacks taught him to recognize that losing and being a loser are two very different things.

Drawing from football, wrestling, music production, livestreaming and rebuilding his career as an independent artist, the conversation looks at learning how to win while you're still losing. Joe reflects on coaches who changed his understanding of success, watching teammates wear championship rings, competing alongside Grammy-winning producers, making difficult career changes and reaching the point where lessons and losses have to turn into results.

The episode also explores what it means to become undeniable, why competition can bring out another level of performance, and the difference between depending on a team for a win and taking responsibility for your own outcome. Winning isn't presented as never failing. It's about staying long enough, learning enough and continuing to improve until you're ready to step into the wins you've been preparing for.

You're a winner. It's time to win.

Key Points

00:30 You're a Winner: It's Time to Win

01:20 Rebranding, Starting Again and Accepting Failure

08:57 The Coach Who Taught Joe How to Win

18:00 Learning How to Win While Losing

23:59 What a Championship Ring Changed About His Perspective

29:51 Redefining Success in His Music Career

33:01 The TikTok Meeting That Helped Shift His Career

41:52 How Losing Can Bring Out the Winner in You

43:03 Competition and the Drive to Get Better

44:07 Competing Around Grammy-Winning Talent

57:00 When Competition Starts Affecting the Work

01:05:55 The Sermon That Brought Winning Back Into Focus

01:08:53 “You're a Winner. Why Are You Walking Around Like a Loser?”

01:15:05 What “Winning Regardless” Really Means

01:16:28 Becoming Undeniable

01:26:59 Have You Stayed Long Enough to Crown Yourself Champion?

01:30:00 Wins, Losses and Lessons

01:35:56 Team Wins vs Solo Wins

01:41:50 You're Supposed to Win

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #WinningMindset #SuccessMindset #PersonalGrowth #Competition #IndependentArtist #resilience

“Your vibe attracts your tribe.”

A piece of advice from streamer Nina Mobina changed the way Joe Louis thought about authenticity, community and the people he was attracting into his life. What sounded like a simple phrase became something he would return to whenever his audience, environment or direction no longer felt right.

In this episode of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe tells the story of building a community through TikTok Live while trying to establish himself as an independent artist. He reflects on learning how to livestream, deliberately trying to build an audience that could grow alongside his music, the influence Nina had on his approach to community building, and the uncomfortable realization that the energy he was putting out was also attracting people he didn't necessarily want around him.

The conversation goes beyond social media and audience growth into authenticity, the law of attraction, relationships, accountability and finding your people. Rather than changing yourself to make people like you, the lesson became about understanding your own vibe—and recognizing that if you don't like the tribe around you, changing that environment may begin with looking at what you're putting into it.

The community Joe eventually attracted has become part of what allows him to remain independent, own his art and build his music career on his own terms.

If you don't like your tribe, change your vibe.

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #YourVibeAttractsYourTribe #FindingYourTribe #Authenticity #CommunityBuilding #PersonalGrowth #independentartist

Key Discussion Points

00:00 Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe

01:15 Meeting Nina Mobina

03:49 Learning How to Build a Community

05:53 The Law of Attraction and What You Attract

09:14 Building Your Own Community

14:25 The “Justin Bieber Effect” and Building a Lifelong Audience

18:49 When Joe's Young TikTok Audience Became a Responsibility

20:52 The Artist-Fan Relationship Joe Wanted to Build

34:29 Learning TikTok Live Battles

40:17 Why This Episode Is for Nina

41:35 Nina Mobina's Influence on Livestreaming

52:57 The First Conversation That Made Nina Different

57:37 When Livestream Advice Became Life Advice

59:46 Rebuilding After a TikTok Setback

1:00:25 Realizing He Didn't Actually Have a Community

1:04:29 Learning to Connect With the People Behind the Numbers

1:07:03 “Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe” Becomes Personal

1:11:24 Realizing His Own Energy Had to Change

1:12:33 Attracting the People He Actually Needed

1:13:37 What Happened When Joe Changed His Vibe

1:14:19 Authenticity, Energy and Finding Your People

1:17:14 How Community Supports Joe's Independence as an Artist

1:19:49 Taking Accountability for Your Environment

1:21:26 If You Don't Like Your Tribe, Change Your Vibe

“Not branding myself as my traumas, I'm not branding myself as my sorrows.”

How do you choose joy after grief, trauma, loss and disappointment? In this episode of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe explores the difference between joy and happiness, how perspective shapes the way we experience difficult moments, and why the worst things that happen to us don't have to become our identity.

Following his previous conversation about grief, this episode turns to the other side of the emotional spectrum: joy, peace and happiness. Drawing from experiences with losing people he loves, career setbacks and rebuilding his audience as an artist and live streamer, the conversation examines what changes when we stop focusing exclusively on what we've lost and start recognizing what remains. Choosing joy doesn't mean ignoring pain, denying trauma or pretending that difficult experiences don't hurt. It's about consciously deciding where to place your attention without allowing sorrow to define the entire story.

The episode also explores gratitude, negative thinking, self-doubt, emotional resilience and the difference between action and reaction. From remembering the life of someone you've lost instead of reducing their story to their death, to recognizing progress when career numbers don't look the way you want them to, Joe's perspective is that choosing joy takes conscious practice. Pain can still exist. Grief can still exist. But so can love, memories, opportunity, beauty, peace and everything else that's still good.

Choose joy. Choose peace. Choose happiness. Choose yourself. And choose your God above all.

Key Discussion Points

(00:00) - Choosing Joy After Grief

(03:00) - Joy vs Happiness: What's the Difference?

(06:00) - Finding Joy During Difficult Times

(09:00) - Why Choosing Joy Is a Conscious Decision

(11:00) - Stop Letting Trauma and Sorrow Define You

(14:00) - No More Bad Days: Changing What You Focus On

(17:00) - How Negative Thinking Hides What's Going Right

(20:00) - Choosing Joy After Losing Someone You Love

(23:00) - Why You Are More Than the Things You've Lost

(26:00) - Remember the Life, Not Just the Death

(29:00) - What Losing His Best Friend Taught Joe About Perspective

(32:00) - Holding Onto Memories Instead of Only the Loss

(35:00) - Choosing Joy While Rebuilding a Career

(38:00) - TikTok, Vanity Metrics and Recognizing Real Progress

(41:00) - Finding Something Good After Trauma

(44:00) - Turning Pain Into Purpose

(47:00) - Choosing Joy Until It Becomes a Habit

(49:00) - Self-Doubt and Negative Thoughts

(51:00) - Meet Action With Action, Not Reaction

(54:00) - Why You Don't Have to React to Every Emotion

(57:00) - Training Yourself to Choose Joy

(1:00:00) - Why Negative Emotions Can Feel More Powerful

(1:03:00) - Choosing What You Allow Yourself to Focus On

(1:06:00) - Why Choosing Joy Doesn't Mean Ignoring Pain

(1:09:00) - Finding Beauty in Everyday Life

(1:12:00) - Choose Joy, Peace, Happiness and Yourself

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #ChoosingJoy #FindingJoy #PositiveMindset #PersonalGrowth #FindingPeace #Gratitude

“Have your cup of coffee with grief. She ain’t got to come in all your rooms though.”

How do you cope with grief after losing someone you love when the pain never completely disappears? This episode explores grief and loss through personal experiences with death, family, friendship, anticipatory grief, grief triggers, anniversaries, faith, memory, and learning how to keep living without pretending everything eventually goes back to normal.

After hearing another conversation about losing a brother brought years of memories back to the surface, this became an honest look at what repeated experiences with death have taught me about grieving. From learning what death meant as a child and experiencing my first funeral to losing my best friend and cousin, my grandmother, other family members and people who profoundly affected my life, each loss changed the way I understood grief. Some taught me that you can begin grieving someone before they die. Others showed me how loss can change families, how music becomes permanently connected to memories, why “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve” can make grief harder, and how important it is to have someone who genuinely asks if you’re okay.

There’s also the grief that returns when you weren’t expecting it. Your mind can feel fine while a birthday, death anniversary, season or memory seems to trigger something deeper. My perspective isn’t that grief magically gets better or that there’s one correct way to heal after losing someone. It’s that grief deserves to be felt without becoming the permanent state you live in. Carry the love, laughter, lessons, legacy and memories with you. Let grief visit when it needs to—but don’t let it take over the whole house.

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #Grief #GriefAndLoss #CopingWithGrief #LosingALovedOne #LifeAfterLoss #griefsupport

Key Discussion Points

(00:28) - Why I Needed to Talk About Grief

(06:50) - Does Grief Ever Actually Get Better?

(15:00) - My First Experience With Death

(24:00) - Seeing a Dead Body and Attending My First Funeral

(29:00) - The First Death That Made Me Truly Grieve

(38:00) - How Music Becomes Connected to Grief and Memory

(45:00) - Learning You Can Grieve Someone Before They Die

(53:00) - Losing My Best Friend Three Days Before My Birthday

(1:02:00) - “Love Is a Verb” and Finding Meaning After Loss

(1:10:00) - Remembering Someone for Their Life, Not Just Their Death

(1:18:00) - Losing My Grandmother to Cancer

(1:25:00) - How Grief Can Change an Entire Family

(1:32:00) - The Best Advice I Received About “Should’ve, Could’ve, Would’ve”

(1:39:00) - Making Peace Before Someone Dies

(1:47:00) - Who Actually Shows Up When You’re Grieving?

(1:54:00) - Why You Need Someone Who Really Asks If You’re Okay

(2:02:00) - Feeling Grief Through Someone Else’s Pain

(2:10:00) - What Losing Vic Taught Me About Death and Purpose

(2:18:00) - When Your Body Remembers Grief

(2:26:00) - Birthdays, Death Anniversaries and Grief Triggers

(2:34:00) - Faith, Spirituality and Making Sense of Death

(2:42:00) - Why Grief Doesn’t Have to Become Your Permanent State

(2:50:00) - Carry the Love, Legacy and Memories Instead of Only the Loss

(2:58:00) - Why You Don’t Have to Make Yourself Sad to Remember Someone

(3:05:00) - Have a Cup of Coffee With Grief

(3:10:00) - Don’t Start Grieving People Who Are Still Alive

(3:14:00) - Using Art and Music to Process Grief

“My journey with music has just also been my life journey.”

How do you go from a kid obsessed with drums to becoming a music producer, engineer, and eventually an independent artist? This episode traces Joe Louis’ music journey from his earliest memories in church to Atlanta’s music industry, Brazil, live streaming, artist development, and finally discovering what his own music is supposed to sound like.

It starts with drums at four years old, learning instruments by ear, struggling to read music, playing in school bands and drumline, and eventually realizing just how much of his identity had always revolved around music. After football temporarily removed music from his everyday life, discovering Logic Pro X opened an entirely new world: music production. That path eventually led to studying audio production, moving to Atlanta, becoming a full-time producer and engineer, and learning the music business through real experiences—including encounters with Jill Scott, Dallas Austin and Leslie Brathwaite, and getting the opportunity to produce with Adam Levine vocals for Maroon 5.

But succeeding behind the scenes created another problem: becoming so useful as a producer, engineer and music professional that being an artist kept getting pushed aside. A trip to Brazil became an important turning point when someone finally took his voice seriously and encouraged him to sing. From there, the journey moves through artist identity, live streaming, building an audience, letting people into the creative process, and discovering a sound influenced by gospel, Brazilian samba, R&B and Black rock & roll. After nearly a lifetime in music, becoming the artist feels less like the end of the story and more like the beginning.

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #MusicJourney #IndependentArtist #MusicProducer #MusicIndustry #ArtistDevelopment #musiccareer

Key Discussion Points

(00:00) - The Story Behind My Music Journey

(04:30) - How Drums Became My First Memory

(10:00) - Growing Up Around Music in the Church

(17:00) - The Musician Who First Inspired My Showmanship

(24:00) - Learning Piano by Ear Instead of Reading Music

(31:00) - Engineering Audio Before I Even Knew What Engineering Was

(38:00) - Performing on Drums for the First Time

(45:00) - Why Teachers Kept Giving Me the Wrong Instruments

(54:00) - How I Fooled Music Teachers Without Being Able to Read Music

(1:02:00) - The Teacher Who Finally Recognized My Musical Ability

(1:10:00) - “Are You a Music Man?”: The Report Card That Said Everything

(1:18:00) - Finally Getting to Play Drums in School

(1:27:00) - Drumline and Learning How to Read Music

(1:36:00) - Football Made Me Realize How Much I Missed Music

(1:43:00) - Discovering Logic Pro X and Falling in Love With Music Production

(1:48:00) - Choosing a Career in Music

(1:52:00) - Moving to Atlanta and Entering the Music Industry

(1:57:00) - Meeting Jill Scott and Learning How to Treat Artists

(2:05:00) - The Music Industry Lessons I Learned Behind the Scenes

(2:11:00) - Meeting Dallas Austin Without Realizing Who He Was

(2:16:00) - Quitting My Jobs to Pursue Music Full-Time

(2:20:00) - How I Almost Had a Song With Adam Levine at the Super Bowl

(2:27:00) - Brazil and Being Seen as an Artist for the First Time

(2:34:00) - Why Producers and Engineers Aren’t Your Competition

(2:39:00) - The Mixing Advice That Changed How I Work With Artists

(2:44:00) - Becoming Too Much of a Producer and Not Enough of an Artist

(2:49:00) - How Live Streaming Became Part of My Music Career

(2:54:00) - “Give Yourself First”: Why Good Music Alone Isn’t Enough

(2:59:00) - Building an Audience Around the Person Behind the Music

(3:04:00) - Finding My Sound Through Gospel, Samba and Rock

(3:10:00) - Discovering Black Rock & Roll and My Artist Identity

(3:17:00) - Why I Don’t Want My Music Put Into One Genre

(3:22:00) - Turning the Music Creation Process Into the Show

(3:27:00) - Why My Journey as an Artist Is Really Just Beginning