C. J. Johnson
C. J. Johnson always wanted to be in entertainment, film, and art since he was little. He mentioned that he saw Jurassic Park multiple times as a kid. At first he thought he wanted to be a paleontologist, and eventually realized he didn't want to be a paleontologist, he just wanted to pretend. He wanted to be an actor. CJ ended up going to art school in Los Angeles where he studied film and television. He noticed that there weren't too many black voices in film, and he wanted to change that. The way he approached film making was like an entrepreneur. He always wanted to make a trilogy, not a single movie, but as a freelance film maker, he realized there were lots of smoke and mirrors. Independent film makers are often barely get by. C. J. decided to pivot in order to change the game. He switched to advertising and applied all the skills from film making into marketing. He was promoting on social media in a time where no one was doing that. He became a content creator.
Technology was the sweet spot. He used twitter and Instagram to create the perfect social media brand. As someone who understood the art of storytelling, he had a knack for keeping people’s attention.
It wasn’t long before the photos he was taking were featured on larger accounts on IG and VSCO. Coming from the arts and having different conversations with people over the years helped shape his approach to social media. Soon, he started social media marketing for companies and it blossomed out of control.
Before he knew it, C. J. was an ‘influencer.’ He was resistant to the term influencer for a really long time because it became such a superficial title. He was building out influencer campaigns for a lot of clients and working with influential voices that are thought leaders. What C. J. was doing wasn’t simply influencing. After some thought, he realized he was an expert in his field and that’s what made him an influencer. He began to embrace it much more. C.J. doesn’t write ads, he writes stories. He consults brands on the best way to tell their stories. Dealing with social justice, human rights, equality, diversity and inclusion, he tries to make sure everyone is heard.
Through it all, he worked hard to continue to be authentic. He knew if he couldn’t do that, he would lose credibility.
Being an avid story teller and valuing authenticity, C. J. approached google to do a project where different people of color around the globe were showcased doing different things. Unique stories would be highlighted. It would showcase style and versatility to the tech world. He wanted it to be artistic and creative.
C. J. was asked what advice he would give to someone who wanted to follow in his footsteps. His response was eloquent and well thought out. “I attended a party in San Francisco with some amazing people. Amongst them was a therapist for powerful people. I asked him what was the common problem he’d seen. He told me that people get what they want, but they’re really unhappy because of how they got it. It made me understand that I have to be present. Things are always much better than what you think and things are never as bad as you think. Some opportunities that you wanted, understand that sometimes things just aren’t supposed to work out. Being patient will get you to the better opportunity. Being patient is difficult, but it’s a virtue. loving yourself. Block out some time before you start your day to get prepared for the day. Do something that is in alignment with your purpose. 1 thing a day. You’ll get 365 chances to get closer to our dream. It's okay to accept that you may feel. Write down the worst experience you’ve ever had in your life, then ask yourself did you survive it. Visualize your best day. Imagine if you had everything you wanted in life on a random day. That vision should be your roadmap, your goal. Stick to that.”