The United States Declaration of Independence famously includes the line, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. This passage has been quoted, reused, and manipulated countless times for the better part of the last three centuries. It has inspired leadership, shaped policy, and effectively become the company tag line for “America Inc.” Depending on one’s respective circumstance, the line is interpreted in a range of ways. For me, the line represents a particular vision of what life in America can be. I believe life in America is both a dream come true for some and a dream deferred for others. Unfortunately, the scales of circumstance have been purposefully engineered to favor the dreams of some, at the detriment of many. As the progeny of enslaved people, my life has been unbelievably blessed in comparison to the hardships my ancestors once experienced. I have had the ability to live my life unencumbered by the same physical and systemic restraints they once endured. Their perseverance afforded me with the liberty to choose where I work and live without any real issues, and I have been relatively free to pursue the concept of happiness. When used as a possessive noun, happiness is most typically associated with something that can somehow be tangible. Many of us have good reasons to associate happiness with a certain level of financial income or wealth. For others, happiness is derived from material items, or from other people. Ultimately, there is no uniform definition. It is patently false to suggest that one tangible thing or a subset of tangible things can lead to uniform happiness. Therefore, it is the absence of a uniform definition that often feeds the complexity of trying to understand what happiness means for each of us on an individual basis.
I have spent time contemplating how to define happiness for myself as a possessive noun, “is it money, material items, or do people make me happy?” To an extent all those things do bring me a relative level of happiness. Over time I have learned that my personal definition of happiness is not a possessive noun, but rather it is an active verb. I derive happiness from the things that I do, and not the things that are in my possession. Money and material things are indeed motivating factors. However, I find a great deal of comfort in understanding that my happiness is dictated by what I choose to put my energy into, instead of items that require energy to be exerted.
Assessing what I do for happiness has often led me down a path of evaluating my job and career journey through a narrow scope. I have critiqued the all too familiar tropes: “pursue your passion”, “it should be fulfilling”, and “it is a means to living a comfortable life.” All of which are valid, though not always attainable given an individual’s specific circumstance. In time, I have concluded whatever I do going forward is best to be situated around my curiosities. Curiosity is more resilient, whereas passion might be fleeting. There is an element of self-fulfillment when we seek answers to the questions that frequently flow through our minds, and there are indeed people who can explore curiosities while maintaining desired standards of living. To some, it might sound like I wish to “have it all,” which is understandable. In the process of going back and forth on the efficacy of my pursuit of happiness, I have repeatedly asked the questions, “What is the thing that I would do for free? And how will it make money?” For those that know me well or have followed my amateur posts on Instagram, the answer has always been clear, “barbecue”.
We all have a “thing” that we would do for free and for myself it is undeniably barbecue. On any given day I can have one or multiple daydreams about standing over a live fire and enjoying the craft of barbecue. Throughout my moments of excitement, frustration, cheer, discontent, glee, and sorrow — there is a relatively high likelihood that I am thinking about barbecue throughout it all. For myself, barbecue is a family legacy, spiritual ritual, and therapeutic escape. Barbecue has also been a medium for me to express creativity and nurture lasting relationships. Thematically, barbecue is near the top of the list of things that has consistently sparked my curiosity. Outside of barbecue, my curiosities cover the broad orbits of finance, business, technology, sports, and politics. I have also been intrigued by more creative spaces like visual art, music, and film. I genuinely believe that we all possess an element of creativity; it is just a matter of how it manifests and if we can recognize its existence.
Beyond barbecue I have never really considered myself to be creatively inclined. I have never been good with painting or drawing figures, I can carry a tune that only a deaf person would appreciate, I played the flute for eight years too long in my adolescence, and I have two left feet. As judged through a limited definition, I have never considered myself to be a “creative”, let alone a “writer.” Like most people, my interaction with writing has been best described as “by force”. Whether for school assignments or work deliverables — writing has always been an experience of me staying within the parameters that someone else has dictated. Resulting in no appreciation for the creative writing process.
That all changed back in May of 2020 when I wrote “A Tale of Two Mental Spaces” to express how I was impacted by the odious murder of Ahmaud Arbery. My goal for the piece was twofold: 1) to give voice to my perspective and 2) to connect with others that may or may not have been feeling the same. After receiving feedback from family, friends, and colleagues I was pleased to know that I accomplished my two goals. After publishing additional pieces, I have been encouraged to write more and cultivate what might be considered a creative aptitude or a gift.
It is often expected that when people pursue a “passion project” that the endeavor will not be economically feasible, let alone profitable. Most prudent individuals recognize their natural desires to pursue self-interests, and typically prioritize the financial realities that we all face. That logical path leads many people to never pursue their dreams, develop their gifts, and ultimately never realize their own definitions of happiness. Fortunately, and unfortunately, I am both very reasonable and bizarrely impulsive. At times I can be very risk averse, and at other times I will be the embodiment of “YOLO” (you only live once) and be comfortable with whatever the end results may be. This internal contradiction has led to a great deal of introspection, and a volume of “good ideas” without execution. As an outcome of experience, I have learned: there is no rushing into a “good idea”, take the time to build brand awareness before any product or service fulfillment launch, reduce upfront investments, and ensure there is a road map to profitable margins early on.
Thinking through a “good idea” during a pandemic presents a unique opportunity to attempt alternative strategies to potentially build a business. Clearly, anything worth building right now should not require a physical interaction between people; but it does put a burden on alternative approaches for customer engagement. Furthermore, due to a lot of “good ideas”, it is advantageous to find unique ways to differentiate from similar products or services. Lastly, there should also be a plan for product or service fulfillment once in person interactions are safe again.
In the spirit of my own pursuit of happiness, I have decided to embark on a journey to creatively explore my curiosities and build a digital native barbecue brand. Inspired in part by the legendary Gangsta Grillz mixtapes (if you are of a certain age, you will love this), I plan to publish a series of compositions (do not worry, the world will be spared of me trying to rap) that will give a voice to my perspectives and connect with a diverse range of people. The name of the series will be “Jolley’s Grill” and it will be an extension of the Jolleycue brand. I do not pretend to be an expert in anything, but rather an individual genuinely curious about many things. All my writings will be rooted in my own unique experiences, which have informed my own perspectives. My expectation is that everyone will not agree with my viewpoints on certain topics, nor connect with all my shared experiences. As the adage goes, “everything is not meant for everybody”.
Jolley’s Grill is my creative approach to generate revenue that will be reinvested into building a multi-channel barbecue business. At the outset, Jolleycue will require capital investments into digital assets, equipment, raw materials, and merchandise to be sold. Through the use of multiple online channels, the plan is to deliver an experience that will inspire people to enjoy barbecue by providing cooking materials (e.g. seasonings and sauces), recipes, and media content. In the short term my plan is to develop media content to cultivate brand engagement and utilize Jolley’s Grill as a dual source for financing / broader brand awareness. Ecommerce will enable customers and supporters to buy merchandise and cooking materials, with a long-term aim of retail distribution.
Once physical interactions are safe again, I will evaluate the opportunities to travel and participate in unique events such as festivals, pop-ups, and catering. Given my negligible experience working in the food service industry and the notorious low margins, I know it is in my best interest to delay the prospect of a brick-and-mortar location for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, as much as I love barbecue, I recognize the world does not actually need another “BBQ joint”. Taking into consideration the environmental impact of the raw materials required to make good barbecue, I will be mindful to minimize my carbon footprint.
Throughout this endeavor the core ethos will be curiosity, creativity, community, and above all else, happiness. As my father always says, “there is no use in being called Jolley, if you’re not happy.” In addition to these guiding principles, I also aim to inspire others to take a unique approach in exploring their curiosities and pursue their own definitions of happiness. Without a doubt, my plan and strategy will need to be reiterated and is subject to change as I learn what works best and what does not.
Regardless of the outcome, I am extremely appreciative of an incredible support system that consists of family, friends, and colleagues that have been unwavering in their encouragement. A popular African proverb states, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I want to see how far this idea can go, so thank you all for joining me on this shared journey.
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