Independent Candidate 2020 U.S. Senate Special Election in Georgia: Al Bartell aka “The Dark Horse” – S1E9 (#9)

S1E9 – Independent Candidate 2020 U.S. Senate Special Election in Georgia: Al Bartell aka “The Dark Horse” – S1E9 – powered by Happy Scribe

But now we’re in what’s called the communications age, where we live, work and play by our relationship to communication. Communication has now become a commodity. In the Deep South, we didn’t have the large industries, smokestack industries with thousands of people and thousands of employees. We didn’t have that in the South. Nor do we have the 100 store building with mainframe complete computers on every floor. We did not have that in the south. So we were snatched out of the agricultural age and slammed into the communications age.

Boss Uncaged is a bi weekly podcast that releases the origin stories of business owners as they become Uncaged Trailblazers, Unconventional Thinkers, Untethered Trendsetters and Unstoppable Tycoons. We always hear about overnight success stories, never knowing that it took 20 years to become a reality. Our host S.A. Grant conducts narrative accounts through the voices and stories behind Uncaged Bosses. In each episode, guest from a wide range of backgrounds sharing diverse business insights. Learn how to release your primal success through words of wisdom from inspirational entrepreneurs and industry experts as they depict who they are, how they juggle their work life with family life, their successful habits, business expertise, tools and tips of their trade. Release the Uncaged Boss Beast in you. Welcome our host S.A. Grant.

Welcome back to Boss Uncaged podcasts. On today’s show, we have Al Bartell. Al is running for Georgia U.S. Senate. Al has over 30 years of political experience alongside being an entrepreneur and being a small business owner. On today’s show, we dive into discussions about the current civil unrest, the global pandemic and the growth strategy to recover coming out of such devastating circumstances. Without further ado, Al Bartell. Welcome to the show, Al, how are you doing today?

Doing good pal and appreciate you having me. Thanks a bunch.

It’s definitely an honor of having you on the show. I mean, definitely with your credentials and your background, I think going to be a good allude to kind of talk to this particular audience. You know, usually when you have people of your stature on shows, it’s 100 percent driven in one direction. But I think that you’re diversified enough that you can kind of touch on multiple different topics. So I’m looking forward to this conversation.

Good. Appreciate it.

So, I mean, I think our current listeners are used to diversity on the show. I mean, we’ve had multiple different backgrounds. So give a little taste of who you are and what’s your agenda?

Sure. I got started with my whole relationship to public engagement. As a member of the Department of Defense, particularly Department of the Air Force, I got trained in all the aspects of conflict management, public engagement and violence prevention. When I got out of the Air Force, I went back to school and got a degree in business so I could expand my relationship to economic development. I became a certified mediator and I mediated between communities, urban, suburban and rural communities and local, state and federal government. And that also included philanthropic partners like foundations so that we could grow and develop neighborhoods and communities all over the southeast region of America. That’s been my relationship as a public engagement consultant and a public policy leader so that we could have neighborhood leaders, community leaders, faith leaders and small business leaders have the same access to public policy as a lobbyist, special interest groups and corporations. That’s how I make my living by getting paid to do that and raising funds to do that. And also, as a public policy leader, develop in the leadership of stakeholders and as a political candidate is what I’ve been doing for the last 30 years. It has been an extraordinary our way of life for me as well as a destiny call for leadership. And I appreciate the opportunity to be talking with you so that we have this conversation today.

Got it. I think that that’s a great Segway to series of questions just based upon what you said. And I think you’re very modest in your definition of who you are. But I mean, you’re saying that you’re a candidate, but what seat are you running for?

I am a candidate for United States senator in the special election between now and November 3rd here in Georgia. That impacts the southeast region of America.

So something the modesty is definitely there. I mean, you’re running for state Senate. So currently right now in Georgia, well, nationwide, across the globe. I mean, right now we have a global pandemic and we have civil unrest. Are those two things that particularly on your agenda, being that you have a business background? Do you have any way that you can kind of segway into things that can be done to kind of help small businesses?

Sure. The plight of small businesses has been a challenge for decades. But with the pandemic and now with the civil unrest, it’s being put on the front burner. The pandemic put it on the front burner because we had to shut down the economy in favor of health practices that could keep us safe from the coronavirus. And then the glaring impact of civil unrest that has had on the breaking of windows in buildings and looting of small businesses has had a devastating impact. But what that puts on display is that our government and many of our philanthropic stakeholders have just been passive in supporting, sustaining small businesses. Our government and our philanthropic stakeholders have not provided the support for people who want to be entrepreneurs and go into business. The American Way has been to adopt a slogan, call, get a good education and get a good job, as opposed to get a good education, get a good skill and go into business. So I’m now interested in having urban, suburban and rural communities have a definite defined set of practices to encourage and sustain small business development and entrepreneurial leadership and development. To do that, we must have the resources from local, state and federal government, and we must have the commitment from investors in the field philanthropic community to go around the state of Georgia and put in place small business development centers. Those small business development centers will sustain and empower entrepreneurs, small business owners, people who want to make money from their craft and their way of life and the interest we have to now put a system in place, it just can’t be a passive act to have small businesses and entrepreneurs use be the backbone of the America that emerges in the 21st century from the pandemic and the civic unrest in America.

I mean, that’s definitely a powerful outlook and a powerful scope of an agenda. Part of that is you’re talking about the education side. So just going back to your story. Right? I mean, like your origins. Right. So how did you even get into the political arena?

I was doing violence prevention in Washington, D.C.. That was back in the 80s, late 80s when crack hit the street. And the Mune Brothers was shootin and on each other all of the concrete. So you had neighborhood and community leaders and faith leaders that were interested in doing something about it, but they did not have a relationship to violence like I did because I’m a military veteran and trained in conflict management. So I got involved in working with neighborhoods and police departments to do conflict resolution and decreased as violence is between gangs and in communities. More and more communities began to consider. That they had the same relationship to public policy where we’re not able to get anything done. So I began to use the realm of communication to impact public policy, to sustain small businesses and community, to get transportation policy change in community, to get public health policies changed in communities, to get housing policies changed in communities and public policy begin to be not just a passion for me, not just a way of life or as a professional, it also gave me an entree into the political system of campaigning in the political system or running for office in the southeast region of America.

So, I mean, how long have you been into politics?

I’m a Vietnam era veterans, so I was in the Air Force between 1973 and 1980. As soon as I got out of the airforce, I began to impact campaigns of city council members in North Carolina. That was in 1980. So here we are in 2020. And so 1980 to 1990 is ten years. 1990 to 2000 is ten years, 2000 and 2010 is another ten years in 2010 to 2020 is another ten years. So that’s 40 years of being involved with politics, 40 years of being a public policy leader and 40 years of being consultant in the realm of public engagement.In January of 2021, I will be 65 years old.

Wow. So I think you touched on another big topic, right? When you’re coming from that mindstate of 40 years of being in this realm, you’ve seen a lot. You’ve heard a lot. You contributed to a lot. And you have a lot of experience. And considering that we have this pandemic, considering that we have civil unrest and considering that the economy is kind of wobbly right now. What have you seen from back then that we’re not really utilizing or that we can do better now to kind of overcome these current hurdles moving forward?

Well, back then, we had a healthy respect for government from the private sector. We had a healthy respect for government from people who were interested in service. Over the last couple of decades, there has been replace the private sector policies of making money and political marketing consulting has displace government as a service. People who have been elected as president particularly and United States senators specifically have treated government as an arm of business. Health care has suffered. Community engagement has suffered. Race relations has suffered. The service sector, the spirit of service is gone from the American government. And we can see that when this pandemic hit, the whole support for health care systems, particularly with elderly and out in communities. That system was gone and not there. We didn’t have adequate testing to be available to gather data. We didn’t have the distribution of the kind of equipment needed for our first responders will have the basic setup for mask and other tests and none of that in place because it was viewed by business management. Government theory is not necessary. Our public safety has suffered. The money and funds had been pulled from police departments is only used as a manpower distribution system rather than training and development police to be in the spirit of community and in the spirit of community. That’s because the business management mentality has hijacked our relationship to government as a service like it used to be, and it began to take its toll on the American people and the American spirit.

That kind of makes things a bit difficult because, I mean, in society we live in right now. Business essentially runs everything, right? I mean, money is potentially the fuel to success and success is potentially the outcome that most people are striving for. So how would we as small business owners and that’s what we’re thinking about, we’re thinking about, OK. We need to build this business. We want to scale this business. We want this business to make money. We want to make it have longevity and possibly can pass it down to our kids. But how does that work with regards to what you’re saying, respecting the government? So, I mean, where’s the equilibrium in that coming from the 80s and the 90s when potentially people were more respective of government? How would that work today?

Well, as we move forward in the 21st century, we cannot have government just be another corporate control methodology. Government now has to become a framework for sharing power. Right now, you have monopolies, multibillion dollar franchises that control the business agenda in America. If we get back to shared power, we can have small businesses and entrepreneurs in neighborhoods and communities share the future of those neighborhoods and communities in partnership with government and corporations become a partner. Whether then having a hyper marketing control based agenda, now that people are watching and we have people’s attention, we can shift public policies to where the small businesses and entrepreneurs become the backbone of community. They become the critical partners of government so that we can redefine and reshape America in to the quality of life domain that we want it to be.

That kind of reminds me of a conversation of how one of my friends and we were just talking about entrepreneurship in general and the way society was talking of being facetious here I say in prehistorically, but at one time there were blacksmiths and shoe makers and wood craftsmen that were like, what you’re saying they were community driven. They were not necessarily a monopoly, but they all worked. And a system of trade or a system of I would work for this and not necessarily work for dollars. If they needed milk, then they would exchange services. Do you think that potentially is a good direction that we can potentially go back into, considering that the pandemic hit? Everybody’s working from home, right. So everybody is scrambling, figuring out how to make money online, figuring out how can I still make money and not be working per hour? How would that factor into your agenda?

Well, we have subcultures now in neighborhoods and communities to still practice that. You know, we trade, we share, we collaborate so that when one gets paid, everybody gets paid. But that has been called a minority based economy or an unsubstantial economy known as not really the mainstream of America. And none of this pandemic hit. Those kinds of relationships are coming to the surface again. People are sharing goods and services. They’re sharing ways to make money and sustain safety and do public health, quote unquote. Back in the day, we didn’t have corporations owning hospitals. We had our faith communities and our community stakeholders that has hospitals. We didn’t have these large systems where you had to show elderly people to be confined for the rest of their lives. We had people in the community that made those services available. And now that we’re back to this pandemic state, we’re finding that those old practices that were discarded by corporate minded government stakeholders and monopoly minded business stakeholders. We’re finding that the shared power concepts are being revisited. But those of us who understand that we now must take the effort to not have it just be revisited. We’ve got to restore them to being the mainstay of public policy and dismantle the corporate model only way of government and the corporate monopoly only way of doing businesses. The people who want to lead that conversation are small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Let me ask another very powerful statement, and I can just tell just by the way you stated that, I mean, I would think that is particularly one of the reasons that I’m asking you, is that why you became independent and you didn’t pick one of the primary parties?

That’s exactly why. The primary parties in America are business driven parties. There in politics, because of the business, the corporate model of politics, it disregards the everyday community engagement stakeholder. It disregards the everyday small business stakeholder. It disregard the everyday faith stakeholder. And it disregards the everyday neighborhood stakeholder. So the corporate model of politics demonstrated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party was one that I could not in all good conscience submit to. So I became an independent public policy leader in America in the dawn of the 21st century.

I think this step into a situation to kind of educate people just a little bit. So you’re running for United States Senate. In that seat, what would you be able to change committing that you’re stepping into that seat, into that role?

In that seat, in that role, I would be able to make the voice of community available in the U.S. Senate committees and subcommittees to the same degree as lobbyists, special interest groups and corporations. Special interest groups and corporations have in effect mandated the government does not regulate corporations. That leaves it up to the hype marketplace. It regulates that there has to be price controls for the insurance companies to monopolize health care system. It regulates that the dominant class runs the police department and uses police forces in America to keep communities of color and particularly, monopolized and out of the mainstream money by criminalising our activities. When you have our young men and women who have less than a pound of marijuana going to jail for 15 and 20 years, when other dominant populations get a smack on the hand. That’s because the corporate mentality of the corporate government model is still actually controlling monopoly populations. So as a United States senator, I can hold hearings on these. Unjustified systems and dismantle them. I can make sure that the neighborhood leader, the community leader, the faith leader in the small business leader have the exact same access to public policy as lobbyists, special interest groups and corporations.

So based upon the change that the U.S. is looking for right now, I mean, in going back to the topics that we talked about before with the civil unrest and the pandemic and all these different things, if we want to change, essentially what you’re saying is that the only way to really get that change is that we’re going to have to change a system that we’re in. I don’t know where we can change a system that we’re in. We’re going to have to get out and vote.

That’s accurate. But let’s be clear, nobody is going to go and participate in vote in a system that is designed to bring them in to kneeling mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically and economically submissive. We’re not going to go and vote in that system. Nobody’s going to go and vote in a system that is clear that it regulates you to be in second class. Nobody’s going home to vote in that system. No one’s going to go and vote in a system that is designed to use police departments to dismantle the spirits of neighborhoods and communities. Nobody’s going to go vote in a system designed to red line money and loans come to our communities. So when you hear people say, I’m not going to vote, they have reasons for it. And it makes sense that they would not go and vote and participate in that system. Now that we have the whole world watching, now that they had been confronted with stark reality, we have to go back to our communities and go back to the same people who says I’m not voting in that and let them know we now have a window of opportunity to make that change that we have not had in the last 50 to 75 years. So it is useful for us to do what our ancestors did, who was faced with much more difficulties than we are where we are now, ready, willing and able to change that system.

So I think you’re living up to the nickname that me and your manager were talking about, Off-line, about you being the dark horse. And obviously, if you can kind of define what that dark horse looks like, you know, I mean, some people may hear a dark horse and everything is a racial thing, but in all reality, it’s not. So can you kind of define what dark horse is?

Oh, yes, brother. Absolutely. You know, the whole world has different ways of communicating about change in the hand of the universe, moving to make something happen. So when you have a dark horse in the race, that horse is not necessarily known for being able to outride was known in the mainstream. So it starts out at a disadvantage, so to speak, slowly coming from behind. And gradually, as the race moves on, it moves up through the pack and begins to have his presence known and as it curves around and goes into the home stretch of the race, the natural abilities of that horse which were not known, in other words, being in the dark, not fully in the light, become to come to bear. And that horse uses and stretches across the finish line and puts a whole new pattern in place. So I’m known as a dark horse in this U.S. Senate race. People don’t expect for me to make a difference because I’m not going to be able to raise five point seven million dollars. People don’t expect from me to me to make a difference because I’m not picked by the Democratic Party. People don’t expect for me to be able to make a difference because I’m not picked by the Republican Party. I don’t have multimillion dollar corporate sponsors, but I have the spirit of the community at heart. I am known as a thoroughbred and I am the dark horse in this race.

Wow. So I guess another thing, speaking on nicknames and being the dark horse. What other keywords would you use to define yourself? I mean, three to five words. Define who you are.

I am the future of destiny. Every now and then in the history of America and around the world, the hand of destiny moves. But you’ve got to be in touch with the spirit of destiny to be able to benefit from it. Our civil rights leaders, they didn’t just all of a sudden pop up. They were able to embrace the hand of destiny when it tapped them on the shoulder, when it tapped Martin Luther King on the shoulder. He was willing to say yes. A lot of others were not. There were a lot of people who were much better known than Martin Luther King. They had large churches. They had big money. They had a lot of experience behind them. He was a dark horse in the civil rights movement. And now it’s time for the business sector. Those of us who are small business owners. And entrepreneurs and have the entrepreneur spirit like I do, to be that dark horse in that future. So I am connected to that kind of destiny. And there the others like yourself that are out here that are ready to make a move in the history of America.

I think I definitely appreciate that insight and tieback from civil rights. And currently right now and moving forward, what potentially could happen down the road? I think just bringing those three pieces together and it unites the forward front that we’re moving towards. Another solid question that I have. You write, being that you’re talking about small business. You’re talking about business. You’re talking about leadership. What does your entrepreneurial background? I mean, was your mom or your dad? Did you have in mind your family that was an entrepreneur growing up?

Back in the day when farming was the mechanism for making a living in the southeast region of the nation. I grew up over in eastern South Carolina. There was a term called sharecropping. That means that you didn’t have a job. You were able to manage your relationship with nature and negotiate with white land owners about how to make money through crops. So I came from a long line of the African American black folks spirit that made money not by going to a job, but by making a living. Throughout our relationship to nature. And then when we moved to distribution and goods and services, I began to understand very early on that data was a commodity. So I am an entrepreneur for over 40 years. My commodity is data. I make my living by connecting people to data. I am an entrepreneur of data. I’ve always been an entrepreneur of data. That’s how I’ve developed myself as a guy who makes money. Entrepreneur and a small businessman.

So do you think that history of being ingrained as an entrepreneur from day one? Do you think that’s a factor to your current success?

It is the most critical factor of my current success. I got real clear early on that the business of America is business. And so it is now clear to me that the history books doesn’t include that. One of the great leads that we have, Malcolm X, came from a place in Oklahoma where one of the first substantial business enclaves for black folks was developed. He came up out of that. And so there are other Americans who have made great contributions to our nature. They were business men and business women, Madam C.J. Walker and others. So my upbringing, my father used to distribute farm products as a business man. My mother used to negotiate with white land owners and sharecroppers for our relationship to what could be received from crops. After that, she was a critical stakeholder in the retail business of stores that were in our community managing the distribution of goods and services to people who were in our community. You know, they got to me real early. They took me to a tree outside in the yard and say, Do you see any money on it? That’s because they don’t grow on trees.

They’re very funny. So with your work life balance, right. I mean, considering that you’re running for a major office. Considering that you’re a consultant and you have clients and I would think it is a lot of travel just in general of what you do. How do you juggle your work life balance?

By me being an entrepreneur and a business man of data. I make sure that people get develop as critical stakeholders. So I work with neighborhood leaders to increase their relationship to data. I work with community leaders to increase their relationship to data. I work with faith leaders to increase the relationship to data. And I work with small business leaders to increase their relationship to data. As a United States senator, I will be doing the exact same thing in order for neighborhood leaders, community leaders, faith leaders and small business leaders to make a difference in the committees, the full committees, there’s 24 full committees of the United States Senate and dozens of subcommittees of the United States Senate. We must have a relationship to data as a United States senator. My accountability would be to increase the relationship of over nine million people in Georgia, to be able to impact those full committees and subcommittees to the same degree as lobbyists, special interest groups and corporations. Lobbyists have a powerful relationship today to special interest groups, have a powerful relationship to data. Corporations have a powerful relationship to data, and they use that relationship to data to manipulate, control and design those full committees and subcommittees of the United States Senate. I want to, as a United States senator, have the current work that I do, be the exact same thing, work that I do as a United States senator in the 21st century of America.

I mean, that definitely sounds like a heavy agenda to sit on your shoulders. And the statement always goes behind every strong man potentially there’s a strong woman or a strong support team. And you had brought up C.J. Walker before. And, you know, C.J. Walker was essentially married three times. I think her first husband died and then she had a divorce. She had a second divorce. And just carrying that burden of the world on your shoulders could definitely be pushed upon your family. So. In that space, would all that weight and I think this will be very helpful for our viewers to understand coming in from a longevity of 40 years, coming in from a longevity of 40 years of being an entrepreneur and understanding the weight on the shoulders and understanding that these things need to be done. How does that portray to your family? You segment them?

Your family was never designed to be a stand alone situation. If you’re married or not married or you have significant other well, you have children or grandchildren. A family was never designed to be a stand alone element. It was always designed to be an extension of the community. Do you have a family? And you’re going to have it be a stand methodology. The weight on your shoulders is crushing. It is severe, is heavy and unbearable because you have your family as an extension of the community. The community shares the weight because of their natural relationship to family. So the family and the community becomes one. Otherwise, the weight will crush you. And so the opportunity is to always, always remember the family and the community are one. So the weight on your shoulders becomes evenly distributed and you can move forward with confidence, ferocity, energy and faith.

Thats definitely a positive outlook on how to juggle the family life. But I think in retrospect, asking that question, I think majority of people would potentially think about, well, I set aside time every single day. I make sure I do this every single weekend. But your answer is very unique in a sense that you’re saying that now one in the same but is a universal thing. So the family is connected. It’s an entire system. And then by being embracing that system, you’re able to carry the weight equally across all the facets.

Absolutely.

What are your morning habits?

I get up in the morning to 6 or 6:30. Sometimes a little earlier. And I do a lot of stretching. Stretching my back muscles, my leg muscles, my lungs, my arm. Stretching is the mainstay of being mobile. You can lift weights and have a strong body. You can run and have plenty of endurance. But if your body is not mobile, it’s all for naught. So workout doing in the morning. And then after that, I’m on the Internet. I am looking at which emails I’m going to return in the morning, which e-mails I’m going to return in the afternoon, which e-mails I can return in the evening, which texts I can return in the morning. Which texts I can return the afternoon. Which texts I can return in the evening. And then what meetings I’m going to make. And so each one of those has a rhythm. Text messages has a rhythm. E-mails have a rhythm. Phone calls have a rhythm. Having meetings have a rhythm. Now, a lot of it is done on Zoom or other Internet platforms. And that’s the rhythm of each and every day. So just like I stretch my body and keep it mobile to start off in the morning, I stretch my mind. My connection with stakeholders. My commitment to outcomes and results. I keep stretching them. I keep moving all the parts moving. Keep communication in place. But that’s the rhythm of my day. Each and every day of the week.

Hey, guys, let’s take a quick break and hear from today’s sponsor.

Support for Boss Uncage and the following message comes from Buteke. Buteke Inspirational Apparel and more. Breakthrough and conquer your next meeting. Walk in and spotlight your success with inspirational business, apparel, accessories and more. Visit buteke.com today and order products that represent your success.

Back to the show. So your morning starts around 6:30 potentially earlier. Yeah. I mean, what time does your day usually end?

My day rarely ends now before 9 or 9:30 and sometimes it’ll go to midnight. But that’s because it’s a way of life and not because of burden.

So I think we talked about a couple different things that potentially that you see on the agenda, moving forward, stepping into that role that I see that you would like to see. So with that, my next question is, where do you see Georgia, for example, in 20 years? What are your hopes and dreams for this state?

Georgia is on the front end of confronting. The public policy ages we’ve had in America, we’ve had four of them, first public policy age in the age of agriculture, who will live, work and play by relationship to nature. Then we moved into the industrial age. Large smokestacks of iron and steel, thousands of assembly workers. And we had our relationship to live, work and play. By relationship to industry, they were moved into the computer or the information age when he destroyed buildings, mainframe computers on every floor. Well, we had our relationship to live, work and play. But our relationship to information. But now we’re in what’s called the communications age, where we live, work and play by our relationship to communication. Communication has now become a commodity in the Deep South. We didn’t have the large industries of smokestack industries with thousands of people and thousands of employees wouldn’t have that in the south. Nor do we have the 100 store building with mainframe complete computers on every floor. We did not have that in the South. So we were snatched as the agricultural age and slammed into the communications age. So the hub of global sports franchises like we see with that Mercedes Benz stadium in the middle of Atlanta. They got marketed as an American football stadium. What was really going on is a world class soccer stadium where we see data driven industries of corporate finance that are moving out of New York and Chicago and coming here to Atlanta, where we see the multitrillion dollar industry of Hollywood and all the data that goes into entertainment. Moving here to Atlanta and the state of Georgia, where we see the redesign of the whole mechanism of distribution of goods and services, the kind of distribution hubs and transportation hubs that are here in Atlanta and in the state of Georgia. So Georgia got snatched out of the agricultural age and slammed into the communications age. Our future in Georgia is bright and alive and full of growth and development. The question become, who’s going to be included in that? And who’s going to be left behind? Special interest groups, lobbyists and corporations are designing a public policy political system to leave us behind as neighborhood community faith and small business leaders, we can not sit back and let that happen. So as a U.S. senator, I can guarantee and promise you we will not go quietly into the night and we will be a part of the emerging future of Georgia and the southeast region of America.

I think you definitely strike a real key point. And that point it leads me to just this next question being that all these industries are coming to Atlanta and all potential revenue is coming to Atlanta essentially as well. Right. How does the common person or the common entrepreneur or the common small business owner get access to these new industries? How would they potentially make money from it?

The common entrepreneur. The common small business owner will have access to these industry and make money from it, by having an extraordinarily powerful relationship to data, many of us has view data as the enemy. We can no longer do that. So it is necessary for people like me to establish roundtable discussions, development sessions, summits and conferences so that the everyday person who’s making money has a hustle, who has an entrepreneurial spirit and a product or service, who has a small business. We have to have roundtable discussions, development sessions, summits and conferences to expand, improve and sustain the 21st century’s entrepreneurs relationship to data.

That’s definitely an insightful viewpoint to address the issue at hand. Because on one hand of it, I think that you have younger people, right, that to say from ages 18 to 40. That’s a blended generation. But I think we understand data in the sense of marketing and when it comes to marketing, marketing strategies, online marketing, everything that you do online is driven 100 percent by data. It’s not by emotional. It’s not by potential revenue. It’s 100 percent driven by who is the target audience. What message you want to deliver to them based upon what the requirements that they’re asking for. And that’s the only way you can really be successful in the online space. So based upon what you said, I mean, I think part of that would lead into you have to kind of educate the other generations, like the 40s to the 60s to 70s, because in those generations, I don’t know the exact numbers. I don’t have the exact data, but a portion of that generation gravitates to it. Another portion of it kind of levitates away from it. They don’t want anything to do with the technology. They want anything to do with the data to the point to where they would even ask their grandkids to help them input information on their phones. And they’ll have the cell phone with them for two, three years and not fully understand the magnitude of the power that’s behind that particular cell phone. Is there any way that you can see education being part of this transition?

Well, you just nailed it on the hand. Those of us who are over 40 are beginning to come to grips with. We have no other choice. But to follow the 40 and under. You know, for 200, 300, 400 years as far as you want to go back. The model has been the younger generation follows the old ones. They get taught by the older ones. They become apprentices of the old ones. That model is now reverse, brother. Those of us who are over 40 are beginning to be apprentices of those who are under 40. And that’s not going to change. So people like myself, like I said, I’ll be 65 years old in January. I have a duty and an accountability to make sure that I put senior citizens in the same room with the future generation so that information and knowledge can be shared. One of my favorite lines when I’m in the room with 20 year olds or people in their 20s is to look them in the faces. And when they ask me how I’m doing. And I tell them my number one goal is to be just like you when I finally grow up.

Thats a beautiful statement, what tools do you use? As a politician that you would not be able to use without them?

If I were not a politician. I would not be able to use the tool of governance. Governance is a critical reference point to balance between the aggregate mindset of people that come together is called a corporate mentality. In many instances, a corporate mentality acts just like a mob. It will exclude, destroy, maim and disregard anything that doesn’t look like them, smell like them and sound like them. As a politician, I can use government in the process of governance as a balance between the corporate entity and the everyday person. Our court system now recognizes a corporation as having the exact same rights as a human being. And so that happened in 1945. And ever since then, the corporate framework has acted as an individual in a court of law. A corporation have the exact same rights as a human being and as individual as a politician. I have access to governance to be able to bring a balance between collective exclusive mentality of a corporate mindframe and the individual of the human spirit. If I were not a politician understanding public policy, I would not have access to the critical tool of balance.

I had to stop and think about that for a minute. There’s definitely a clear resolve. If I’m an upcoming entrepreneur, business owner, potentially to say if I want to become a politician, if I want to become a mayor or a governor or a senator, what words of wisdom would you give to me?

If you were an upcoming entrepreneur or business owner, and you wanted to consider becoming a mayor, member of city council state representative, state senator. County commissioner well, even a congressman or congresswoman, what I would encourage you to do is to begin to consider that there are systems who do not have your best interests at heart. And the only way to balance those systems with the human spirit man is those systems against what is called the rule of law is to get involved with politics and possibly be an elected official.

Would you recommend someone in that space? For example, if someone was running a small business for 10, 15 years and they wanted to change some laws, they wanted to change some regulations. They wanted to change local ordinance. Would you recommend that that person then go after politics or would you recommend them to do what?

I’d recommend that they go after politics, get involved in a city council race. Be the chairperson of the campaign of a person who’s running for city council. Be the chairperson of a committee. Then an elected official already has in place goal being the chairperson of that committee. Get involved. Stay involved. Sustain and expand your reference point to the political system in America.

Thats very interesting. So we’re talking about the communication age. Where can people find you online? What’s your information? Facebook, Instagram, email, website, phone number.

“AlBartellUSA” is my Facebook. “Bartell for US Senate” is my senate campaign. “An Advocacy America” is my relationship as a stakeholder and advocate and the website for that is. www.advocacyamerica.world.

All right. So I had a couple of bonus questions for you. What is your most significant achievement today?

My most significant achievement to date is in the area of race relations. We can always make the case that when white folks come against black folks to stand up for black folks, stand up for people of color and be clear to communicate with honesty and that the atrocity of race. It’s not something that you can just sit back and allow to happen. But it also cuts the other way around. There are white people who get accused of being racist, which is not the case. So a personal friend of mine, Senator Johnny Isaacson, who developed health problems and resigned from the seat that I am now running for. He was accused of being a member of the Ku Klux Klan. I knew that that was not the case. Very few people came out and stood by him. I held a press conference and pointed out his relationship to our community, his relationship to the civil rights movement, his relationship to minority owned businesses, and his relationship to people of color, and confronted those who accuse him of being members of the Klan. That accusation disappeared from the headlines, disappeared from the national agenda. And was not able to destroy his campaign to be re-elected as a United States senator in America. So it cuts both ways. In order to ask for forgiveness, you’ve got to be able to stand up at a time when it is just not a good idea to do so. At that time I would have been fully being called an Uncle Tom, a sell out, betraying my people, disregarding my culture and undermining the fabric of minority based relationships. And I was willing to take that heat because for me, the human spirit does not have a color. And that was one of my greatest achievements as a public policy leader in America.

Yeah, I think that’s definitely a significant achievement. And just listening to you just speak about it, it just kind of makes me think about an online marketing and business development, starting a poor business. I mean, all these different things, you’re always faced with competition. And part of that competition, unfortunately, is the downside of being discriminated against or having trolls or having particularly people hating against you or putting out negative connotations based upon which are striving for and trying to push you back down. Is that something that you thought was you grew up knowing or you learned it and became more structured and concrete as you got older and you seen more of this happening through your career?

No, I grew up knowing, you know, down in the swamps of eastern South Carolina, where there is something called crop and tobacco. One of the most grueling work situations you could ever see the. Owner of that land was white and our work next to his sons and every time a drop of my sweat hit the ground, the drop of their sweat hit the ground. And, you know, we drank from the same water bucket when we would go to school or we’d be in public places. We’d have to go to different bathrooms and drink from different water buckets. So I began at an early age to know that no matter what are the society conditions, the triumph of the human spirit cuts across all lines.

So this will be the last question to have you and I say this one for last for a particular reason, just to kind of heat what are your insight would be on this one, if you could spend 24 hours with anybody dead or alive, uninterrupted. Who would it be?

If I could spend 24 hours with anybody uninterrupted, it will be Reverend Joseph Echols Lowery. There is a saying in our community call “to whom much is given, much is required”. And Reverend Joseph Echols Lowery, who is one of the former presidents of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, as well as a major civil rights leader. Got to demonstrate that he was given a lot, able to go to some of the greatest schools, be a minister, be influential with civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, be able to impact presidents of the United States of America. Well, they were Republican or Democrat. And he did that because he was given a lot and he was communicated that to whom much is given, much is required. In the kinds of conversations I had with him shall be with me ongoingly as I move into the future of the 21st century.

I think that’s definitely a powerful way to close out this interview. And I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to come on this podcast and kind of give our viewers insight to what your business agenda is when it comes to small business and entrepreneurs and give them a little insight to the way you view currently right now what’s going on in our communities to view currently right now what’s going on with the pandemic and to hear you speak so positively and so strongly in the direction of growth, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Well, let me give a shout out to you and your stakeholders for having your life be about the entrepreneurial spirit. And to be clear that entrepreneurs and small business owners are the backbone of America. So I knowledge, you appreciate and you encourage you to stay on guard, stay on post and stay strong, my brother.

Definitely. I appreciate that. Thanks for tuning into another episode of Boss Uncaged. I hope you got some helpful insight and clarity to the diverse approach on your journey to become an Uncaged Trailblazer. If this podcast helped you, please email me about it. Submit additional questions you would love to hear me ask our guests, and or drop me your thoughts at @asksagrant.com. Post comments. share, hit subscribe and remember! To become a Boss Uncaged, you have to release your Inner Beast. S. A. Grant signing off.

Listeners of Boss Uncaged are invited to download a free copy of our host S. A. Grant’s insightful book, “Become an Uncaged Trailblazer”. Learn how to release your primal success in 15 minutes a day. Download now at www.sagrant.com/bossuncaged.