A Podcast by Joe Louis

“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 Points00:30 You're a Winner: It's Time to Win01:20 Rebranding, Starting Again and Accepting Failure08:57 The Coach Who Taught Joe How to Win18:00 Learning How to Win While Losing23:59 What a Championship Ring Changed About His Perspective29:51 Redefining Success in His Music Career33:01 The TikTok Meeting That Helped Shift His Career41:52 How Losing Can Bring Out the Winner in You43:03 Competition and the Drive to Get Better44:07 Competing Around Grammy-Winning Talent57:00 When Competition Starts Affecting the Work01:05:55 The Sermon That Brought Winning Back Into Focus01:08:53 “You're a Winner. Why Are You Walking Around Like a Loser?”01:15:05 What “Winning Regardless” Really Means01:16:28 Becoming Undeniable01:26:59 Have You Stayed Long Enough to Crown Yourself Champion?01:30:00 Wins, Losses and Lessons01:35:56 Team Wins vs Solo Wins01:41:50 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 Points00:00 Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe01:15 Meeting Nina Mobina03:49 Learning How to Build a Community05:53 The Law of Attraction and What You Attract09:14 Building Your Own Community14:25 The “Justin Bieber Effect” and Building a Lifelong Audience18:49 When Joe's Young TikTok Audience Became a Responsibility20:52 The Artist-Fan Relationship Joe Wanted to Build34:29 Learning TikTok Live Battles40:17 Why This Episode Is for Nina41:35 Nina Mobina's Influence on Livestreaming52:57 The First Conversation That Made Nina Different57:37 When Livestream Advice Became Life Advice59:46 Rebuilding After a TikTok Setback1:00:25 Realizing He Didn't Actually Have a Community1:04:29 Learning to Connect With the People Behind the Numbers1:07:03 “Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe” Becomes Personal1:11:24 Realizing His Own Energy Had to Change1:12:33 Attracting the People He Actually Needed1:13:37 What Happened When Joe Changed His Vibe1:14:19 Authenticity, Energy and Finding Your People1:17:14 How Community Supports Joe's Independence as an Artist1:19:49 Taking Accountability for Your Environment1:21:26 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

“I've been to the light and I'm back to show the unconditional love.”What happens when a near-death experience completely changes the way you think about love, forgiveness, faith and your own life? In the first guest episode of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Glenda Oden shares how surviving a stroke and what she describes as an encounter with “the light” became a turning point in a life shaped by difficult relationships, loss, spirituality and a search for peace.After years of feeling that she wasn't always loved in the ways she needed, Glenda explains why she made a conscious decision to start putting the love into the world that she wanted to receive herself. The conversation explores her relationship with God outside of organized religion, learning to forgive even when forgiveness isn't returned, finding peace in being alone, leaving toxic relationships behind and realizing that loving other people doesn't have to mean sacrificing yourself.The conversation eventually turns toward self-love and healing. What does it actually mean to make yourself whole? Can you give someone your whole heart without becoming empty when they don't give the same thing back? From relationship advice and generational perspectives on love to learning how to enjoy her own company, Glenda's story is ultimately about choosing peace, giving love freely and discovering that healing has to include learning how to love yourself.#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #NearDeathExperience #UnconditionalLove #SelfLove #HealingJourney #Faith #personalgrowthstory Key Discussion Points(00:00) - “I've Been to the Light”: Glenda's Story Begins(00:56) - Why Glenda Became the Podcast's First Guest(05:53) - How Life Changed the Way Glenda Understands Love(07:10) - Choosing Peace After Years of Dysfunction(10:03) - Losing Faith in Church Without Losing Faith in God(12:27) - Finding Purpose Through Giving Love to Other People(16:09) - Why Glenda Tells People She Loves Them(17:48) - Giving Love When It Isn't Given Back(20:26) - Putting Out the Love You Want to Receive(22:26) - How a Stroke Changed Glenda's Life(23:42) - Why She Stopped Giving People Half of Her Heart(25:27) - The Near-Death Experience That Changed Everything(27:12) - Meeting “The Light” and Not Wanting to Come Back(29:31) - Why Asking for Forgiveness Doesn't Require Being Forgiven(32:45) - Faith, God and the Spiritual Side of Her Near-Death Experience(33:15) - Losing Her Mother and Learning How to Grieve(36:50) - How to Keep Going When Life Feels Like Too Much(38:43) - Why You Should Tell People You Love Them While They're Here(42:08) - Relationship Advice: Never Get Too Comfortable in Love(44:22) - Has Modern Dating Made Romance More Difficult?(47:44) - Love, Relationships and Younger Generations(52:26) - Choosing Happiness, Peace and Acceptance(53:46) - How Different Generations Learned to Love(57:08) - Love, War and Why Older Relationships Lasted(1:02:03) - What Does It Mean to Feel Whole?(1:03:52) - Learning to Love Yourself for the First Time(1:04:40) - Is Self-Love the First Step to Healing?(1:07:24) - Healing After Toxic Relationships Starts With Yourself(1:09:23) - How to Give Love Without Losing Yourself(1:11:17) - Glenda's Final Message(1:12:00) - Why Glenda Has Been So Important to Joe's Journey