Day 73: Scotty Manzo
“… once you’re in that flow, say you can’t sleep, you’re so busy getting up, writing stuff down and ideas are just coming left and right, and you try to tame it. I think sometimes, like with me personally, I’ve tamed it too much. You want to stay in that flow. You don’t want to let go of it.”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Scotty, for agreeing to take part in this project, and before we begin can you please introduce yourself?
Scotty Manzo: Yeah, Toni, I’m Scotty Manzanares, I live in Castle Rock, south of Denver in Colorado, my website’s at scottymanzo.com, and I am a musician.
Toni: What do you play?
Scotty: I play mostly guitar, but usually anything in our back room that consists of jimbays and keyboards, and I’m really starting to fall in love with the piano. So, just a little bit of everything, really.
Toni: Fantastic! Let’s go right into the very first question, which is, when you think about inspiration in either what you do for living or who you’ve come across in your lifetime, who do you think you inspire and how do you think you do that?
Scotty: Well, I think I’m pretty much pretty positive all the time, so usually anybody I’m hanging out with, or if I run into an old friend, it’s always something funny. So I think I’m pretty … I’ve always stayed pretty positive. Really, just come across really everybody. That’s kind of how it is.
Toni: How do you think — being positive is absolutely a great example — but what else do you think it is about you that inspires people?
Scotty: I would think maybe because I kind of do it. If somebody’s got an idea, no matter how far-fetched it is or anything, I really like to inspire them to do it. I think that’s why people kind of tell me when they have an idea on something; it could be out there, but I always encourage it.
Toni: So it’s that motivation and saying, come on, you can do it kind of an attitude?
Scotty: Yeah. It really is. And if I have a connection or something I will try to get them there, or a book to read. I know in my travels searching, I’ve come across a lot of good teachers, so at least get them in that direction or send them an email of an author, or you know, just kind of anything.
Toni: How do you think by being positive and by encouraging people to just do it and to follow what they want to do, helping them to make that connection, how do you think that that might help them to explore their potential?
Scotty: That’s a really good one. I think just that they can do it.
Another thing I usually do is a secret box technique that has endless cash, an endless money box, and “What would you do if you had this?” I can’t remember who taught me that, it was some great teacher. But I usually will talk about that, and then the ideas pop out left and right and that’s kind of like the light. It helps me out. It’s like “What would I do if I just had this endless source of money right now?” And I just try to go down that path. Usually it’s always something with music, traveling. But that seems to be a good technique to help somebody just really open their mind right there.
Toni: Do you think that your music inspires others?
Scotty: On my page … on my link to my music, I can’t … it’s different to everybody. After a show or something, somebody will say something, but I couldn’t explain it. I’d have to have somebody else listen to it and see if it’s inspiring. It’s nice to hear that when it really did inspire them. So yeah, it’s just one of those things. These are the people I like, these are my mentors, this is what kind of music I’m loving right now, and that kind of more explains me type of thing.
Toni: So let’s go with that one. What do you think you need to be inspired?
Scotty: Oh, I like that one! Definitely good music. I’ve been getting a lot of really, really cool stuff lately. A good Pat O’Bryan Unseminar for sure. People like you, Toni; I love what you’re doing. I was going through your website and that’s inspiring.
Toni: Well thank you!
Scotty: Absolutely. Just love what you guys are doing. Being around positive people and then just … I think usually two or three nights a week I’m usually trying to get on some kind of interview and just listen in. I used to go to the weekend things a lot; if there’s a real estate convention, whatever, just a lot of positive people. So usually on my weekends I’ll go check out something. Obviously I have a lot of product to prove that.
Then really volunteering with the elderly; that’s one thing I really like to do and help them out, and that makes me really feel good and it inspires me to do that. I want to be a full-time volunteer.
Toni: That one kind of came right out of the blue, volunteering with the elderly and that’s fantastic! How did you get involved in that?
Scotty: I’ve always been around older people, but on around the last about 14 years I’ve been working at assisted living homes, nursing homes, usually doing maintenance or something inside those homes, and just a little thing helping an elderly person out. Somehow, my elders, it just makes their life, and it just makes me feel good. That’s something I want to do just full-time. Not have to worry about getting paid for it.
And of course, traveling, and being able to help if somebody needs a little something done on their house, I can do that. I think that’s inspiring, you know, just volunteering like that.
Toni: Have you always been a positive person?
Scotty: I think I have. I’ve had … and of course everybody has had to endure the trenches, but for the most part, yeah, I have. I really have. If there’s something going on I try not to market it, but sometimes I do need to talk and get it out of me or whatever, but I try not to … I’ve always been pretty positive, and you would have to ask the people I’ve been around more that question. I try to. I try to stay on the up-and-up. I’m really super optimistic, way on that side.
Toni: Are there certain tools that you might reach for when you know, man, it’s time for me to get inspired and to be re-inspired? Are there tools or books or things that you might reach for?
Scotty: You know, I’m standing actually right next to my bookshelf here. I think … usually this is kind of something I do once in a while … I’ll actually get in the car — and we have a back highway 105 that runs kind of west of I-25 going between Denver and Colorado Springs — and I will actually put on some really good trance music and drive that highway, and it just really puts me in a focus.
And another thing I always have done is taken a road trip by myself; I think that’s my best clearing tool is doing that and just listening to good stuff — all the music that inspires me, to interviews, to business mentors, and just a good long road trip, a week or so. And I can really get clear doing that.
Toni: And when you are doing these things or you’re listening to good music or following positive people, the volunteering that you do, the road trips that you take – how does that all then allow you or help you to explore your own potential?
Scotty: I think because it really just opens up your mind. It clears me, personally. And then once you’re in that flow, say you can’t sleep, you’re so busy getting up, writing stuff down and ideas are just coming left and right, and you try to tame it. I think sometimes, like with me personally, I’ve tamed it too much. You want to stay in that flow. You don’t want to let go of it. But I think just being around positive people too, that really helps out.
Toni: And so when you’re looking to grow and to move into your own space of potential and to move forward in that, do your mentors help you to do that as well?
Scotty: I would say, yes, absolutely yes. I’m working with Pat O’Bryan. I’m doing a coaching program through him right now. But in just that one week that he’s on, showing you hands on and all that, that is such a great … and when you actually get across those road blocks, that is the best.
I’m always seeking mentors to do that so I can kind of pass on the knowledge and learn something new. My mentors is my mom, my family, my friends. Really everybody. I’m just really honored for all of them, for sure.
Toni: So when you are in learning from these people and just moving because of these people that are helping you as well that allow you to open up your mind and think differently, do you think then that’s what you do when you inspire others, that the people that have helped you or what you do to clear your mind and to stay positive, do you think that everything you do for yourself, whether it’s through inspiration or exploring your own potential, do you think that all relates back to how you treat others?
Scotty: I think it really does.
Toni: How do you think it does that?
Scotty: Because you can really tell when you see somebody, and they’re … even like after a show you can see this awake feeling in their face. It’s something … there’s a certain look, I’m sure you’ve seen it a lot when somebody saw something that you did, just watching your actions and just something really enlightening. It’s like, “Dude, I’m going to pick up my bass again and start playing”, or somebody is going to get back to their drums.
Here’s a little example: I sent some music down to one of my friends in Arkansas and I loaded a whole bunch of stuff on a thumb drive that … I don’t even know what song I pulled out, but I sent it down there. And I got a call back about a week later — and I was actually a little bit down that week — but my friend Liz, she’s like “Scotty, that is the most awesome writing I’ve ever seen!”
I’m like, “What are you talking about?”
“That book you’re writing!”
I’m like,“What book?” The zip disk … and she’s like “Jay, he took off up to the mountains and he’s writing, and it really inspired us.” And I had to go through all my stuff and wow! I sent that whole file. I sent them everything.
And so that was really, really cool.
Toni: Absolutely. It sounds incredibly contagious, really. This interview with you feels to me like somebody who just “is.” You don’t give a lot of thought to inspiration, you don’t give a lot of thought to exploration of potential because it just is within you to help others, to inspire others. Your enthusiasm is contagious and you just live a very positive life as best you can and do what you need to move forward, and that just moves for others. That’s what I’m hearing in this interview.
Scotty: Oh, I love that – that just totally inspired me! Thank you, Toni.
Toni: Well, you’re welcome!
Scotty: That is so cool!
Toni: That came from you, though, Scotty; that didn’t come from me, and that’s what I’m taking away from this interview, that you just are and that inspiration just is. So I think this has been an awesome interview, and I appreciate your honesty and also coming to the table and being part of the Project. And for that, I thank you.
Scotty: Thank you, Toni.
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For more information about Scotty Manzaneres: www.scottymanzo.com, www.myspace.com/scottymanzanares
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