Martinez White, with the release of his debut self-help book “Think Like a DJ: 7 Steps To Spin Poverty Into Prosperity,” wants people to take their talents, whatever their artistic endeavors or creative skill sets might be, and start to use them to generate income for themselves.
“I know people are making masks now. I know different artists and musicians who are doing things on [Facebook] Live on the Internet that they haven’t done before. I was just on a comedy show last week Saturday with a group of comics who are great at making people laugh,” White tells Madison365. “If this is going to be the new normal, how do we make it work for us in this new economy and new world?”
“Think Like a DJ” is an especially important book, White says, during this global coronavirus pandemic and this local, state, and national fight for Black Lives. The book, he says, is him “giving back some of the knowledge he’s learned over the years to emerging communities.”
“’Think Like a DJ’ is a book I started to write about two years ago. It was a philosophy that I developed over time but it’s basically a seven-step success guide, a manuscript and a blueprint for success for people to take their current scenarios and take their lemons and I’ll help you make not only lemonade, but a lemonade stand,” White says. “In the pandemic, we found out how important it is for people to have money stashed aside and to save money and to have streams of income. This is a way that we can do it – if we think like a DJ.”
White is a financial advisor for Northwestern Mutual by day where he teaches clients, regardless of socioeconomic class, how to create intergenerational financial freedom. He is also CEO of Intuition Productions, a multimedia brand and millennial event planning business. On top of that, has been a popular DJ in the Madison and Milwaukee area for 15 years.
“We have to be creative. We have to pick a tempo. We have to drop our first record. We have to feel the beat and getting people to network with us and join our party. We gotta move from feeling the beat to riding the wave when the plane is in the air and the party started and things are going,” White says. “You’re going to have troubleshooting at some point and you have to have persistence against resistance.
“And if your life was a party, how many people would RSVP? That’s a main question I’m asking,” White adds. “Who’s coming to celebrate you and your success?”
“Think Like a DJ” is also White’s personal story on how he rose from poverty to prosperity. White rose up from poverty – he grew up one of six children in a single-parent family in inner-city Milwaukee – to higher education and an entrepreneurial career.
“It’s seven steps – how I did it and how I believe others can do it, too. I think that’s the most important thing about my book is the fact that each book will be customized to each person that buys it,” White says. “Every individual book will be different by the time you get to the back cover.”
Readers will get a chance to write their own plans for success and their own stories inside and come up with their own dream statement. “You can manifest your own destiny,” he says. “You’re going to be a co-author by the time you finish this book.”
The forwards for the book are written by Reggie Brown and David Muhammad.
“I learned a lot about myself writing this book. I cried a lot because it’s partly about my dad – it’s the story of my dad,” White says speaking of his late father, O.C. White, who was a popular radio personality in Milwaukee and a civil rights activist in the ’60s and ’70s. “I learned some historical information based upon the guys that forwarded the book. Reggie Brown, who is a 30-year DJ back in Milwaukee, told me a story about an internship he had with my dad long ago that I never knew about. I heard an interesting story about my dad and Sly and The Family Stone at Summerfest in the ’70s.”
White says that he wrote the book with people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and women leaders in mind. The book, he says, serves as a pillar of support for emerging voices and emerging communities.
“The poverty part is really important. It’s not just physically in poverty or financially in poverty, it could be an impoverished mindset. This book is for anybody who is reaching for the next level in their career,” White says. “This book is another brick in your wall of success – foundation so you can reach higher.”
The book will officially be launched on Friday, Aug. 14 – White’s birthday. Pre-sales and pre-orders have been going on already. On Sunday night, Aug. 16, there will be a “Think Like A DJ LIVE Virtual Book Launch & Birthday Party” that will be live-streamed on SPACESHIP.TV, ZOOM, Facebook and Instagram
“As a DJ, you have to express humility and be confident – simultaneously. You have to be open-minded and non-judgemental attitude towards others. You have to listen to the energy in the room,” White says. “That’s what you have to do as a DJ but also as a husband, a wife, a friend, a brother. You have to open your mind to other voices in the room and be aware of what’s happening around you.
“It’s a powerful book. I think people will love it,” he adds. “It gives people a blueprint and a manuscript format for success.”
For more information or to pre-order a copy of “Think Like a DJ,” click here.
