Influencer Jordan Lourens

Interview August 2019

Jordan, could you share with us some information of your family life?
I have one other brother, my parents are alive and they were very supportive in whom I have become right now. Everything I have done or tried, my parents supported me. At the end of the day if I really wanted to do something they supported me in that.

You have a very respected mother, Mistica Fraay. We have interviewed her in august 2018 and got the most reaches, shares and likes ever in this Share2Uplift blog, how important is she in your life? Are you the son of Mistica Fraay or is Mistica Fraay the mother of Jordan Lourens or does this not matter?
It depends on whom you are asking. My parents split when I was 10 years old and from there on it was mostly my mother that raised me. Her educational approach was the best thing she gave me by just raising me. My mother is a living example of someone disciplined, she required me to finish everything I started and also taught me to stand up for my self. Children replicate what their parents do, how she raised me was “leading by example”. So my hard work and very disciplined work as well, I got it from her. That is why I can work every single day, train every day as I got this attitude from her. I am extremely grateful for that.

Could you share with us some of your educational background and past professional experiences, as we know that you are a student, you work part-time at a gym and you are a motivational speaker? Can you expand a little on this?
Growing up, I was a rather insecure guy. I worried and cared too much about what people thought of me. Now I can tell you that was a bad thing to do. Now I don’t worry what people think of me. After my VSBO with the technical curriculum, I went to MTS as I was good at working with equipment and materials. I always liked to play with computers and after 2 years I was totally unsure about what I wanted to do. So I switched from a technical study to a business study when I decided to go to the UOC. I’m almost graduated I still have one course to do, before I can defend my thesis. During these past years, as I started working on myself, I started going to the gym and here is where my self-improvement journey really started and took off.

Why? Because the same work ethic needed for the gym is needed in all other parts of my life, not only physically, but also emotionally and socially. I started making songs and releasing them, and just by doing that I got more self-confidence. And as I like to motivate other people, through my Instagram, I started posting not only tips and links related to our bodies and physical health, but I started with everything, with growing success. I want to continue doing these promotions, but I am the biggest obstacle standing in the way of my self.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerfull beyond measure.” Nelson Mandela. When I was in the gym, I became a role model for those visiting the gym and this affected all the different areas of my being. I didn’t grow up with my father, he was there but at a distance. As I decided to start my own business and Curaçao is a small market, I kept working on developing my knowledge and skills and within a year from now I want to go work and live in the USA. I will also start by offering my motivationals in english.

The last time we talked about your studies, you were working on a thesis on the creative economy as part of your studies at UoC. How this creativity works for you? 
I go in a flow as a creative and then it just happens. When I was young, I learned to just start somewhere and “As consistency is a superpower”, I started to work on my subject day in day out and within soon you are bound to know more than 80 % of what most people know. And you need to just finish what you start. This is how it works for me, I manage how I use my time very well, I just do it and then it happens and I see what comes up.

In what areas are you creative?
I am creative in music production, painting, and my mind has this unique ability to break down things so that everything can be seen in layers. That is how I am good at making great stuff in music, writing and performing arts as well. Every time I have to present something, I never prepare in detail, I know what I am going to talk about and I just do it. I really can’t explain it better than this. So creativity for me works by: “Being consistent in what I want to do and grow over time.”

Of late, I have seen a YouTube of you where you share some valuable tips for your followers to inspire them. Is this the start of more of these motivational YouTube that you will create?
Yes, it is a start. I have spent lots of time developing my latest motivational video. The experience of how to do this, I have mastered it sufficiently enough now so the thing that I need to do for a next one, has become easier to do. I want to go eventually deeper in the content, telling stories of the worst thing that happened to me and still master the art of not giving a F…..k, what people think of it. What I have learned from books and other YouTubers is that everything is a failure first. For example, every time you go to the gym, your muscles are stretched and overtime they recover and become bigger and stronger. Through the hard work and in time, we will always be changing and be approaching our end goal, but we will never reach that perfect state. That is why you need to be humble and strive to be better tomorrow and also being OK knowing, that you will never be perfect.

How would you describe whom you are now and what can we expect from you in the coming 5 years career and/or business wise?
Now I am just a guy that grew up in Curaçao with a single mother whom is trying to do the best she can. I am trying my best to live to reach my dreams, I do what I love and I am passionate about it, trying to strengthen and build character and I know what I want to do with my time. At this moment it is about “motivation and creating content” to motivate other people as well. 5 years from now, I will be in America.

I have come to notice that some of those in your age group 24 years are very entrepreneurial and pro-active, they don’t wait for “Mana to fall out of heaven”, but they are full of energy and initiatives. Do you agree with this and why is it that we can see this?
Yes and no. Why yes, because we are growing up in an information age, anyone can have access to the internet. 30 years ago there was no internet, but through globalization there is now a global level playing field where there are more eyes on you, but the only limit is our self. I have this at times that a little voice in me tries to holds me back. It goes like this: “What are people going to say”; or “never take risks” etc……On the other hand, another part of me is saying that this an opportunity and that we can do everything we want and decide to work for no one and decide to be our own boss. It is about choosing on which side you want to be. I don’t know what the exact numbers are and if the balance would be yes or no-sayers. Even if I post something, those whom come to see it within 1 to 2 minutes will like it or not and go on with their life. I have arrived at a moment in my life now, that I encourage constructive criticism and will listen to constructive criticism, but if it is not constructive, I will just keep doing my things, not that I am stubborn or so, but just that I believe in what I do, period.

What is your BIG WHY or driving motivation to be whom you are right now?
I believe that what I have learned from life is the following:
“You don’t get what you want, you get what you deserve.” Everything that I ever wanted, I got it overtime. For example, if I want to date a pretty girl, it might be that in my sub conscious mind, I took notice of certain traits that I don’t like of her, but I put these aside initially. In the end I am going to get her, but I am going to get a backlash also as it will come at a price. Life teaches you that. So whatever you are involved in, just start somewhere and by doing your things, sometimes or often there are coincidences and a bigger power controlling these events and it will come to you if you deserve it. That is why I say, that everything happens for a reason and we should learn from these experiences.

What are the challenges that you are dealing with? And how are you dealing with these different challenges you confront?
My biggest challenge is my self. To overcome that challenge, I am pushing myself daily, to do things that I don’t want to do, but after doing it, this makes me better at it. I would say: “Making the right decisions now, so that you can have a better tomorrow.”

Do you use your inner voice to evaluate when dilemma’s show up? How does that work for you?
Yes for sure, always for me when confronted with a dilemma, it is the best for me to think it through a couple of days, instead of taking quick decisions based on emotions and then regret that it was a bad decision.

How are you trying also to keep up with your personal knowledge and skills levels?
I read everyday and socialize everyday.

You are a cousin of pastor Meris Curtis of Santa Maria and he once told me that you are going to be a millionair in your life-time, because you of your focused and determined attitude. You are so focused in learning new knowlegde, skills and eperiencing new things, do you agree with him?
I think he sees the potential in me, that I am destined to do somehting big. Lots of other people also saw that in me. Overtime it is coming more and more obvious that this will be where I would end up in my life, this resonates with me. But in the beginning I was very insecure, but of late I am believing more and more that I am destined to do something big and I am becoming more and more aware that the biggest barrier is myself.

What are your strengths?
My discipline;
1. I can relate easily with a lot of people and I am resilient. Life at times can bring you down, but I always bounced back and come back stronger;
2. I firmly believe in the theory you have to fail to succeed. If something didn’t work out I can still relate with people to find out why that had happened and grow from the lessons learned;
3. Another strength is my “self awareness”, knowing that nothing is real and everything that happens is unreal. I have always tried to expand my horizons. As I also believe that your creativity is only limited by your own limitations. What is the point, if you are not living a life where you are doing what you want to do. In your endeavors, you are who needs to surround yourself with friends that can uplift you. Most of my friends are older than me, as I completely understand why it is important to learn from other people.

Do you have hobbies or interests that you are also passionate about?
I am an all-rounder. I am now messing around with motivational videos and I am in filming; I like singing, playing piano; there isn’t only one thing that I really love until now. At this moment I aspire to be a YouTuber and as Curaçao is a small island I am aiming to go after the bigger markets of English speaking followers.
My main activities at this moment are the gym and offering motivational speakings. Another way to explain where I stand now is, the motivational part of me is my core, and fitness is on the side. I started small and first it started at the gym. I started earning money and this was much more that the allowance I got from home. At a certain moment I suddenly realized, that I had Ang 10.000,- in savings. I could have bought a car, but I decided instead to start a small business and invested in video camera’s as I saw opportunities in filming and started to earn more money as I got paid to develop my skills levels needed to work on my passions. This is awesome.

If you as Jordan would meet a stranger in the bus (let say in Holland or the US) and they would ask you to introduce yourself what would you answer?
My name is Jordan. I grew up in Curaçao. I am passionate about growing myself and other people around me.

How would you describe Jordan in one word or one sentence?
Passionate, doing the things that I love, as that is the best way to go through life. Just do what you love and learn from your mistakes.

Whom are the persons that have inspired you the most in your career?
I have no specific person, their are different persons whom had influence me.

Where there always positive role models, or where there also negative role models that you didn’t want to identify with?
Every time I choose my role models, I chose them because things, traits that motivate me, I never had a negative role model.

What are some of the challenges, lessons learned, that you have encountered in your life when you ultimately discovered your talents and strenghts?
A heart break, that became my best motivator. I find that being broke and having a broken heart broken are the two best motivators. When you reach that low point, you learn the most.

Where do you want to be 15 to 20 years from now with your career?
I want to be able to achieve “financial freedom”, so now is the time to put in the work and now is the time to create different streams of income. By doing this now, I will not need to worry about money by that time. I grew up with good values and I am aware that I am the only one that can limit myself and prevent me from reaching this goal.

What would you want your Loved Ones, family, friends and others to say about you let’s say 20 years from now, let us say on your 45th Birthday?
That I have taken care of my self. That I had done what felt right in my heart and that made me a happy person and that my happiness was not a result of other people’s opinions. That I have no regrets, because regrets hurt more then failures.

What makes you stay optimistic about the future of Curaçao?
I don’t really follow politics. What I believe in for myself, in my perspective, I will keep doing what I am doing and by doing this if something needs to go wrong it will happen and I will learn from it, and as long as it doesn’t hurt other people. If you do what your heart, your intuition, your gut, your inner voice says everything is going to be fine. Through my motivational videos I hope to inspire others to do the same.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?
My last video is an example of something that I had imagined first in my mind’s eye and then created it . I am going to switch to do these motivational videos in English so that I can target a broader market. My reasoning is if people locally can become a fan of someone in the US then they can also be a fan of me, when I present my motivational videos in English. Jordan on YouTube.

One of the 250 influencers
Jordan Lourens is “motivational speaker” that inspires his peers. As his young age, he is remarkably consistent and disciplined in all areas of his life, be it as a “motivational speaker” through his videos, or at the gym where he works. He considers failure as being part of the learning process that any person has to go through, as “…our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…”. He models this behavior and through his increasing presence on Instagram, YouTube and at the gym where he works he is becoming a role model for an increasing number of youth in Curaçao. He will soon expand his wings outside of Curaçao by offering his motivational presentation in English. We deeply respect Jordan and definitely consider him one of the 250 Influencers in our society representing the business sector and the educational sector.