Day 354: Chelsea Krost
“I think trial and error comes into play a lot. I’m not scared to take a risk. I think that mistakes are the biggest blessing in the world because you learn from that mistake and you’ll never make it again, and I think a series of just motivation and being daring.”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Chelsea, for agreeing to be part of this Project and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Chelsea Krost: Absolutely. My name is Chelsea Krost. I’m the host of Teen Talk Live radio show on www.latalkradio.com. I’m the spokesperson millennial advocate, and just a 19-year-old student at Marymount Manhattan College.
Toni: Well thank you for being here.
Chelsea: Thank you for having me.
Toni: Oh, you’re quite welcome. So Chelsea, when you think of that word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how does that happen?
Chelsea: Inspiration is one thing that I think if anybody can really understand what inspiration is, that means that they’re on their way to being able to be inspired and inspire others.
I was lucky to find my inspiration early in life at 16 years old. When I found the camera and when I found reporting and the news and impacting others with what you had to say, I was inspired to keep going, and I was inspired to get more information, to let people hear it, and that trickled me to inspire more and more people with what I had to say, because I knew it was helping others, and that was part of … I brought in charity work as well as different fun things that I would be talking about through the radio station and the radio talk show.
I think it’s hard to just say what inspires you, because one thing can’t possibly inspire somebody. It has to be that one moment that you’re just like, “This is it.” I think the first time that I saw what helping others did for them as well as me was the first time I realized what inspiring is and what inspiration was, and I was young in life.
Toni: Well, I just want to make sure that we can clarify this. So you … how you inspire others is by doing what? Is by … you said that you share information with others. Tell me who you share information with and what type of information do you share?
Chelsea: Well, I think inspiring, where that comes in is that I provide a platform for people’s voice to be heard. That’s why I started this show in the first place, because I didn’t think that teenagers really had a voice or a platform to share their opinion.
So I think that what inspired me to do that was the gift of gab, my mom likes to say. I like to talk. I like to have my voice heard, and I like to hear people’s responses. So how I inspire others is to give them that platform, to ask questions to the specialists that I have on the show, whether they’re doctors, lawyers, nutritionists, trainers. So then they get inspired to either lose weight, be healthy, you know, get involved in a charity. So I think providing that platform of being able to voice your opinion and ask questions and also be amongst your peers is inspiring in how I get inspired and inspire people.
Toni: How do you help that group, or yourself – maybe not yourself in this particular question – but how do you help others then to explore their own potential?
Chelsea: Because I think every person out there has something special and unique about them. There is not one person that is identical to another. They just need to tap into what it is, and so what Teen Talk Live does and what I do is I try to take that person who may be so insecure and feel like really they don’t have a lot to look forward to and they have nothing going for them, and exposing them to the things that they can tap into.
So I have the ability to connect with a lot of organizations and charities and fabulous people through networking and resources that if one person … if I have a series of teenagers on the show, then I can relate them to something that they may be interested in, so I try to connect them to something that they can hold onto. Does that make sense?
Toni: Yes, it does. It does. So you’re really kind of bringing exposure to different resources for people so that they can learn from them and develop from them, and also …
Chelsea: Bridging the gap between, you know, the person who’s looking for something and the person who has it to then give it to that person. So I’m kind of that middleman who meshes it all together and creates this like beautiful circle.
Toni: Oh, that’s great! Now, Chelsea, what inspires you?
Chelsea: What inspires me is I love the feeling of being productive. I love the feeling of getting something accomplished. I love the feeling of being proud of myself and making others proud, and I have to say, one of my biggest inspirations has to be making my parents proud. Like when I know my parents are proud of me, I just want to work 10 times harder.
I really get a high off of like receiving an A on a paper or, you know, finishing a huge … like studying for 10 hours and then getting an A on the test. I get inspired by doing well, and I think everybody else does too, but they have to take the initiative to put their best foot forward and actually do it.
So some people need that extra motivation, that extra push, but what inspires me is really just making the best of life and being the best I can be, really.
Toni: Where did that teaching come from? Were you always that way?
Chelsea: I think I really got lucky in a sense that my parents were so motivating and so fabulous that they were always, “Chelsea, you can do it” and “Chelsea, of course you can do it; I mean, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
So when I would do it I would go in with the mindset of “I can tackle this. I got this in the bag.” But also, I think … I think trial and error comes into play a lot. I’m not scared to take a risk. I think that mistakes are the biggest blessing in the world because you learn from that mistake and you’ll never make it again, and I think a series of just motivation and being daring. There’s really not a lot that I wouldn’t do, and it’s just because I love the unknown as well, so that inspires me too. What I don’t know and what I can explore, I love.
Toni: How do you explore your own potential?
Chelsea: I explore my own potential by just trying it. You know, when I was 16 years old I turned to my mom and I said, “I want my own radio show.” She didn’t look at me and say, “You’re crazy.” She looked at me and said, “Okay, how can we make this happen?” Instead of … when I then was telling people, “You know, I’m going to go pitch my idea to WBZT,” they said, “Chelsea, you’re nuts. Chelsea, you’re insane. You’re 16 years old. There’s no way they’re going to give you a platform.”
But I went for it, and I sat in the meeting and I pitched my idea, and they said to me, “You know, you’re 16 years old. Our demographic is 60 and above.” I said, “That’s why you need me, because I’ll attract the younger generation. I’ll bring you a whole new demographic, and I’ll make AM radio cool again for you.” And they said, “We love your spunk and we love your drive to succeed.” Literally, they printed me out the contract right there.
So I think it’s like that risk factor – don’t go into a situation thinking, “I can’t do it” or “I’m going to fail” because whoever completes the marathon when they think they’re not even going to make it halfway?
Toni: What a great attitude. Mentoring – I would image that that’s the role that you find yourself in, that you’re mentoring other teens that may not have that same drive, or they have the drive, but they don’t have the confidence. I can imagine that that’s where you would be a great mentor to those who need help maybe with the drive, because they can see what you can accomplish, but also the confidence to say, without taking that risk, how are you going to know what you can accomplish?
Chelsea: And I think it’s kind of difficult for me to answer the question how do you inspire people just because my goal for right now for life is to not to be this, you know, angel who has the answers to everything and this inspiring person – I just want to make people know that they have the potential to be the best that they can be, and I want to provide them with the knowledge that everybody should know just to get ahead in life.
And I want everybody to know that I’m just like them … I just found what I’m good at, and I just found what makes me happy. So as soon as they find that, they’re going to be doing just what I’m doing, but with whatever is making them happy, whether it’s cooking or, you know, personal training, or going to law school.
Someone who’s so passionate at, you know, personal training and getting other people fit and making them feel better about themselves, they inspire me, so I think how I inspire others is finding how they inspire me, and running with that, because I … I talk to homeless people on the street, and they inspire me. They inspire me to appreciate life. They inspire me to appreciate the apartment that I walk into. And so it’s like, you can find inspiration everywhere – it’s just you need to take the time to tap into it and also be able to relate it back to yourself.
Toni: Absolutely great advice. Chelsea, it’s been a pleasure to have you on the Get Inspired! Project, and we’ll have a link posted on how people can find you and how teenagers that might be listening to the Project right now or reading your transcript can tap into you as well, and we thank you so very much for sharing your time with us.
Chelsea: Thank you so much.
Toni: You are welcome. Take care, Chelsea.
Chelsea: You too.
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For more information about Chelsea Krost: TeenTalkLive.net
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