Creatives Like Us Podcast - Ep:31
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Writing your legacy: Celestine's journey to his first poetry book
In this episode of Creatives Like Us, Celestine Ekpenyong, a storyteller, poet and aspiring motivational speaker, sits down and talks with your host Angela Lyons. He takes us through his vibrant journey of creative expression, from childhood reading ambitions to publishing his poetry after three decades. He shares his personal insights on the power of storytelling, embracing one's cultural roots and inspiring the next generation through his work and public speaking ambitions.
We talk about his debut poetry collection and why 2025 became the year he finally stopped saying "next year." He even reads two poems live in the studio, including the deeply moving Remember Me, written as a love letter to his family.
Connect with Celestine:
LinkedIn: Celestine
Instagram: @ThePrinceOfIdeas @50before50 (and watch out for his TikTok)
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This podcast is hosted by Angela Lyons of Lyons Creative.
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Transcript
Angela (00:04.162)
Hello and welcome to Creatives Like Us, a podcast where we open up conversations about what it really means to build a creative career when you're black or brown. I'm your host, brand and marketing graphic designer, Angela Lyons. In my guest episodes, I sit down with creatives who are out there doing the work, navigating the industries and proving that there's space for all of us. Because the more we share, the more we see our stories out there and the more we see ourselves reflected and the more we realize we're not alone in this.
Okay then, are you ready? Let's dive in to today's episode.
Angela (00:41.058)
Welcome to Creatives Like Us. Thank you for joining me today. Me? Can you tell people who you are and what type of are you?
Celestine (00:43.95)
Thank you for having me.
Celestine (00:48.558)
Okay, so my name is Celestine, and the type of creative I am, I think to put it in a word, I would say that I'm a storyteller. So I like to tell stories and that comes out in different mediums. So sometimes I do that through poetry. Sometimes I do that through content writing, if I'm doing business work.
And sometimes I it through songs and that's my most enjoyable medium, but I just like to express myself and let people know my version of the world and how I perceive things.
Angela (01:30.07)
storyteller. I love that storyteller. So is that your title, your official title as yet?
Celestine (01:34.924)
I think it would be my, say, my unofficial title because in my life I've been a bid writer, a bid manager in my professional career for many years. So I've written a lot of submissions to try and win corporate contracts, which is always fun. But in my personal life, what I love to do is express myself through the medium of poetry and song mostly.
So yeah, and I just love using my imagination, coming up with things, new ideas. So yeah, storyteller, definitely.
Angela (02:13.838)
And how did you get started with storytelling? Was it something from a childhood age or is it something you've discovered in later life and tell us about it?
Celestine (02:21.614)
I've always been an avid reader. So we had, I remember one of my earliest memories when I was young is that we had this bookcase at home that was in the study and it was full chock-a-block with books, like from the top of the bookcase to the bottom. And I remember
Just thinking to myself when I was young, I think I must have been about six or seven. And I was thinking, I wonder how long it would take me to read all of those books. just almost had this like early ambition to read all of the books. It was a bit crazy, but I was just fascinated with just completing that mission. So I started from the top and I just started reading as much as I could. And I would read.
two to three books a week. half of the books on the shelf was actually, there was like a children's encyclopedia, and then there was a more adult encyclopedia. And this was from Britannia.
Angela (03:20.12)
Wow.
Angela (03:36.91)
I remember those, used to buy them like once a month or once every three months. They come knock on your door and say, it's time for the next edition. And you're like, remember kids, this is how we used to read books.
Celestine (03:46.606)
So my parents bought the whole set and my siblings weren't that interested they would read them now and again but I was just, I had this mission. So I read all the child craft versions of the encyclopedia. So that included loads of nursery rhymes. So that just exploded my imagination and just made me think of all these things and that's what really ignited my love for both.
Angela (03:49.197)
Gosh, yeah.
Celestine (04:13.112)
for poetry and books and writing in particular. So I started writing poetry when I was 10 years old. wow.
Angela (04:20.888)
Yeah. Wow. Did you do anything with it? Did you it to people or did keep it to yourself?
Celestine (04:25.038)
I did. There was a few assemblies where I was coerced into standing up in front of a few hundred people in the school. you Oh, quite nervous to start with, but it's one of those as you get on with it, you kind of settle into the scenario. And I remember one of my earliest performances in terms of singing was there was this song that was just fascinated by Rod Stewart.
Angela (04:35.085)
confident of that.
Celestine (04:54.03)
called I Am Sailing. So when I was just 11 years old, I plucked up the courage and what I did was I am sailing. I kind of changed some of the words because I had in my mind that I had this vision that I was a Viking. I was a Viking and I was sailing towards a new land, a conqueror.
Angela (04:55.711)
yeah.
Celestine (05:23.682)
the land and leaving my family. I am sailing towards, so I changed a few words and anyway, performed it and I got a standing ovation. So that's one of my, but I didn't capture a video or anything. So there's no record of it.
Angela (05:40.718)
Do you remember it? Yeah, yeah. I suppose back in the days, no one had phones back in the days, your moms and dads to get their camera phones out. Exactly.
Celestine (05:46.528)
yeah.
Yeah, this was early 90s.
Angela (05:52.622)
Yeah, brilliant. So now, where you are now, is there something that's, what's been your catalyst? What's made you go into what you're doing now? Cause it sounds like you're, you're elevating it now and you're really going for it now.
Celestine (06:04.312)
Definitely. My catalyst was 2025 because for some reason, I remember years ago when I was in a secondary school and I thought to myself, I wonder what life is going to be like in 2025. Because I used to love the film, you know, Back to the Future. yeah. And it just really sparked my imagination that it was going to be
flying cars and hoverboards. But yeah, so when it actually reached, then it was 2025, it was really a moment for reflection of me, for me personally. And I thought, am I happy with what I've put out into the world so far? And my instinctive answer was no.
Angela (06:36.003)
I'm so bored.
Celestine (07:03.412)
The reason being was I've been writing poetry since I was 10 years old, as I said. So I had this physical book of poetry that I used to carry with me and have at home and was filled with over 60 original poems that I've been writing over the years. And I always said to myself, I'm going to publish these one day. I'm going to publish these one day. And then I found myself in 2025.
still hadn't published the poems. I said to myself at the end of 2024, said, next year, I'm going to publish my poems because this is my legacy. This is who I am. And there's no point me keeping it to myself. Let's share it with the world and see if maybe people might like it.
Angela (07:54.796)
I'm sure they will. Have you got it? Have you done it?
Celestine (07:58.412)
I'm pleased to say I have done it. I've got my first book, which I've got a copy for you. So this is your copy of my first book. Tell me how you feel.
Angela (08:04.278)
fantastic.
Angela (08:08.536)
Tell me how you feel. Brilliant. I love the cover design. Cover design on top is a tree, an autumnal tree, and below is a black man's face, quite silhouetted. And also I noticed it doesn't actually say your name. No, it doesn't. why is that and what's that about? Could you tell us? And also, before we go any further, I'd love you to read something or something. Could you select something to read? I can. But tell me why you've got your name. So, Ayo? Amakuril?
Orion.
Celestine (08:39.232)
Orion. So, a few things. So the reason behind the name is because I've just, I always imagined myself as a mysterious African poet. And I didn't, I could have gone with my name, but it just, didn't have that mystery enough for me. So I wanted to have
an author personality that held the weight of that mystery. And for me, the EMO initials encapsulated what I had as a vision for myself as a poet. So the history behind the name is AO is actually one of my middle names. I think that's a good reason to start with AO. Mercurial because I am Mercurial.
Angela (09:35.886)
What does that mean?
Celestine (09:37.422)
Like you're interchangeable, you're like unpredictable, you know, one day you'll be this way, another way you'll be that way. that's the Mercure element. So I thought that had to go in there. And then Orion, which the origin of Orion actually means flight to take off. So I felt like with this first book, this is me taking off.
Fantastic. into the world. And to encapsulate all of it, the theme of my poetry is emotions. So the initials are emo. Emo. Because I write emotional poetry.
Angela (10:20.302)
is so fascinating. You really thought about this. People write a book on poetry and say, bye Angela Lyons, these are my book of poems. This is really well thought out.
Celestine (10:29.746)
Yeah, definitely. Because I just, wanted it to be very clear and plain for people to understand this is my process. This is what I'm thinking of. And I really, really proud?
Angela (10:43.906)
feel proud for you because I just feel like you've been doing this pretty much all your life and it's actually the process is here in the book and you've...
Celestine (10:51.406)
I didn't cry, but I felt like I could have. That's how much it meant to me because it's a project that's like 30 years, three decades. I've been carrying the weight and my family and my good friends that know me keep on saying to me, when is release? And I'm saying soon, soon, soon, next year. And then I've finally done it.
Angela (11:09.742)
When are you gonna release?
Angela (11:17.526)
I love it. I love the cover design. I love the design of the book. Is there anything you'd like to?
Celestine (11:22.414)
Definitely. I've got so many. I've got quite a few favorites in here. But I'm going to read you Cheerios. There's no rhyme or reason why. I can't start my day without plowing through a bowl of those yummy, scrummy Cheerios. Golden rings that bring me cheer. Floating light in milk so dear.
Every bite, a sweet embrace, morning joy, I can't replace. Okay. So this one's short and sweet, but I actually wrote it as a song that I used to sing with the kids.
Angela (12:08.11)
Oh, sweet, is this to make them eat their breakfast?
Celestine (12:11.378)
Just to bit of encouragement, you know? Okay, so here's how I sing it. There's no rhyme or reason why I can't start my day without plowing through a bowl of those yummy, scrummy Cheerios Golden rings that bring me cheer Floating light and milk so dear Every bite's a sweet embrace Morning joy I can replace
Angela (12:39.022)
I wasn't expecting that. That's first time I've heard you sing. like, I just, that's amazing. Your children must have thought, who is this singer of mine making me eat my Cheerios?
Celestine (12:49.24)
Thank you.
Celestine (12:55.298)
So yeah, so a lot of the poems in here are songs. So that's part of my creative outlet that I write them down first. But sometimes actually the songs come to me first and I adapt it and put it
Angela (13:11.918)
a melody onto it. Beautiful. I'm actually outstanding. I'm just like, I wasn't, really wasn't expecting that. Okay, read me one about, you can, if it's easy to find about you and your family and business, the man you are today, have you got something around? Is that quite tricky?
Celestine (13:14.464)
Celestine (13:19.794)
There's a few more, there's quite a few.
Celestine (13:30.71)
Ooh, okay. So, The Man I Am Today. Okay, so there's quite a heartfelt one here. It's not a song. I wrote this as one of the last poems in the book. what, just to explain this, so I have, sometimes I have this process that I speak to people about, and it's about thinking about the end in the beginning.
And what I mean by that is I always try and carry myself with the full process of how do I want people to remember me? What is the impact that I want to leave after I've interacted with people? Because if I lead with that, then that will steer me in the right direction, as opposed to me going down the wrong path or being unsure about things.
Because I start off by thinking how I want you to feel at the end of our interaction. so Remember Me, it's about me sitting down, taking stock of what I've done, what I haven't done, what I plan to do, what I intend to do, most importantly, and how I would like my family, immediate family, and my good friends to remember me.
Without favor, do you? Remember me. And yeah, this was quite the one to write for me. Yeah, no, I'm fine. I'm Okay. So remember me. The lessons, the lucent lofty laughter, the moments, the merry musical musings, the smiles, the sunny, shadeless scenes, the joy, the joyous.
Angela (14:59.468)
Okay
Angela (15:06.498)
Are okay?
Celestine (15:28.12)
jubilant jumps, the dreams, the diverse definitive details, the hopes, the humble heartwarming heights, the bonds, the bold and boundless blessings, the love, the lasting luminous light, the steps, the steady soaring strides, the paths, the peaceful purposeful pursuits.
The truths, the timeless tales of triumph, the flames, the fierce and fervent fire, the stars, the sparkling sleepless skies, the nights, the nurturing nostalgic notes, the days, the delightful, beautiful deeds, the calls, the clear, compelling chords, the songs.
The soothing sacred symphonies, the winds, the well-earned worthy wisdom, the dancing, the daring dazzling dalliance, the life, the lasting loving legacy I leave. Remember me. The heart that held you, the voice that lifted, the love that stayed, the soul that soared.
with unbound courage. In every step, I'll walk beside you on your way.
Angela (17:04.149)
wow. Yeah. That's beautiful.
Celestine (17:05.982)
Yeah. basically I wrote that so almost like not to be too sad, but I wrote that almost like as something that my kids could read when I passed.
Angela (17:22.262)
It sounds like a eulogy to me. It sounds like you're about to go. You have gone and you're expressing yourself. You're doing it yourself, but you want somebody to read it on your behalf for you maybe or to feel your presence in the room. So that's quite goosebumpy too.
Celestine (17:38.926)
It was quite sad, but I just think because I've lost a few people close to me over the years and it really, it made me think that sometimes we wait until it's too late to express what people mean to us. I thought leaving this is almost like a love letter to my family and loved ones and they can know some of my thoughts.
Angela (18:02.614)
You have, you've left a legacy too. You've left that book as a legacy. Is it going to be another book?
Celestine (18:07.854)
Yes, I'm actually currently writing the second Are you? I'm about 30 poems in. Oh, wow. Brilliant. So almost about halfway. Brilliant. So the plan is... Exclusive. The plan is, so this starts in autumn, so the autumn of my life. The next one is going to be winter. The next one is going to be spring, and then we finish in summer. Books. Definitely, yeah. There's four...
Angela (18:32.909)
nice. So that means there's four...
Celestine (18:37.857)
Poem.
Angela (18:39.534)
Okay, we spoke about the poetry. that's again, brilliant, wonderful. And thank you for the song, as I said, was just blown away by that. But what's next? What are you up to right now?
Celestine (18:55.182)
What am I not up to?
Angela (18:57.198)
in your creative world, because I know what you do your day to day, what you have to do to do the bread and butter and the business end of things. what's the other, because I know you've got a lot of creative outlets going on.
Celestine (19:07.746)
Definitely. So, there's, so one of the key things that's keeping me busy at the moment is, a channel that I've got called 50 before 50. and this is an Instagram channel that is, focused on helping me to achieve certain key life goals, before I reached that magic number.
and I actually started this during COVID and I'll hold my hands up and say, I did start it as 40 before 40, but I didn't quite, quite achieve all the goals. So I extended it a little bit. So as I have a bit more time to do everything. but essentially what my motivation around the channel is to inspire people, to know that it's never too late to start to.
achieve the things that you want to achieve, including your dreams and hopes and aspirations. Because I started quite late, but the headline goal for 50 before 50 is for me to become a paper millionaire by the time I'm 50. And not that it's all about money, but I just had to have a headline and that's the headline goal. So I'm doing that through investments, and property, et cetera, et cetera, and generally making money online.
Angela (20:32.942)
So that what you mean by paper millionaire?
Celestine (20:34.862)
for millionaire. So in terms of, don't have to have a million pounds in the bank, but my net worth will be a million pounds. So, and only because at that point, then I'll be financially free, which will then allow me enough time and freedom to spend more time with my loved ones and to write more.
Angela (20:57.582)
noticed about that too, brilliant. What I noticed about that too is that you're doing this 5450, but you're actually telling other people how to do it too. you're like bringing people along your journey. Definitely. Is there a program or anything or people that you've got that you've bringing along? Cause I've noticed that cause I was following you on Instagram and I've seen that. is there any?
Celestine (21:15.694)
As part of, I'm keeping them separate just because I think the journeys are different. So people who are inspired by the 50 for 50 may not want or need to make money, but they might be inspired to, I don't know, maybe say have a career change or maybe a relationship change or start a family, et cetera, et cetera. But what I do in terms of helping people make money is this, I've just got this insatiable goal of helping society to shift.
the gap between the uber rich and the poor, the people who don't have many, because the gap is too huge for me. So I'm doing what I can to try and reduce that gap. And so what I do is I have this series called M3 or M cubed, which is basically making money because money loves momentum. making money online, but through
having consistent actions online. So it's the money making mindset and free. And what I do is I essentially teach people how they can, with very little investment or no money, start on a small scale, but make a bit of money online. Build up, build up, build up, and then start investing, however small it is. And I had a Zoom session just last week.
Angela (22:33.144)
Gradually build it up.
Celestine (22:42.126)
Whereas teaching people how to make money through dividend investing. So I've been doing that for quite a few years and I've made about 30 % on my money. is, I would say that what was that six times better than what you can get on the average?
Angela (23:00.91)
Yeah, exactly. Brilliant. And you're teaching people. What else don't you do? So you've got the creative side of your storytelling and then you've got the creative side of telling people how to make money. love that. So, and you're just, what else? Was there anything else that you want to tell us about that you do? I'm sure there's like, I even think there's like a podcast coming. Yes.
Celestine (23:24.332)
Yes. How did you hear about that? again, this was just before COVID time, actually. I think I started this in 2019. But I actually set up a podcast via Facebook called The Opposite of Regret. And what it was for me, it was just a platform to encourage people to pursue their passions.
Angela (23:44.654)
love that.
Celestine (23:53.96)
And to not let excuses or self doubt get into the way, put yourself first, pursue your passion. And then you can deal with the aftermath later. Because I always watch people on say YouTube and Facebook, you know, build these communities. And I thought, that's really positive. And it inspired me. then I thought, okay, well, I can't easily get on radio. So what I'm going to do, I'm just going to start my own Facebook radio.
So, and yeah, lots of opportunities came out of it. But what I did was I interviewed a lot of inspirational people that inspired me and I asked them to explain about their journey and their process of getting to where they eventually got to. And it was just, yeah, it was just really inspiring.
Angela (24:42.764)
It's really inspiring because people, think people always think, they see that person out there and they're doing so well, but there's always a journey. There's always a story behind it. They didn't just pop up one day, go, hi, I'm famous or I'm rich or I'm really doing well in my business over here. There's always a story behind it. And it's good. I mean, it's point of this podcast too. It's tell people story, encourage other people that you don't have to always be in the same industry. You can always change or you can see other people that look like you doing whatever industry you want to be in. So yeah.
Celestine (25:07.317)
Exactly.
Because I, even yourself, Angela, like I looked at your podcast and I was immediately wowed by it because I just felt you just went for it and you're really busy. You're always doing something, but you still had time to continue on that creative journey and share inspirational stories with your audience because that's what people want to see. And people are always encouraged to see it.
other people doing well and it might spark something in them to actually pursue something that they've been putting on the back burner for a while. So I want to have my podcast out there so then I can interview people like you and inspire as many people as I can. Because part of one of my other goals is to be a motivational speaker. So I like to motivate and inspire whenever I can.
Angela (26:08.974)
think you're doing it through this podcast already. I know you're going to 100 % go for that. It's just, again, how do you do all this? Because you have got, you you're busy, you've got a family, you've got a job, and you do all these crazy things in between.
Celestine (26:25.102)
So I just make time for it because you always make time or find time for the things that matter the most. And that's what I've always tried to do. If I've got downtime, I make the most of it because I have this mantra that nobody knows tomorrow. Not to be pessimistic, but I can't rely that tomorrow will come. So if I can do what I can do today.
Angela (26:54.766)
Yeah, it's interesting because mine is, I always say tomorrow is never promised. And it's such a, it makes you feel like so sad sometimes because you really don't know. So try and do what you need to do today. But obviously we're planning for our future too at the same time. So we have to do that, know, providing for our families, know, whoever's got around us. But yeah, tomorrow is never promised, but yeah, do as much as you can today.
Celestine (26:54.892)
Just get it done.
Celestine (26:59.405)
Exactly.
Celestine (27:17.87)
Exactly. Get it out there. It's just, I try at the moment, because I've got this book in mind, I'm actually writing a new poem every week. So I've set myself that target for every week. I don't know, who knows what might...
Angela (27:35.416)
Mike, why don't you do a poem about this podcast?
Celestine (27:37.678)
I'm at a podcast, creatives like us.
Angela (27:44.718)
Well, you've been to Creatives Like Us events. you've been to... thank you so much. Thank you. Yeah. should have another one coming up soon. Well, obviously, we'll keep them going. Yeah. But yeah, you could do Creatives Like Us event or podcast, something around. Yeah, definitely. Because we're talking about, we're getting black people, black creatives together, working on their business. So maybe around something like that. Not putting you on the spot or anything, but...
Celestine (27:48.44)
They're awesome, bud.
Celestine (28:09.646)
I'm all right right now. yeah, if you if I'm lucky enough to speak at your next event, I will have 100 % I would. definitely.
Angela (28:18.699)
Would you like to speak?
Angela (28:22.717)
I mean, I don't have this on the record of filming, but we actually had a meeting this week and we was asking the next steps, because we got feedback from people and we actually said, we're creating a community, why don't we ask people in our community to actually speak next? So we're going to ask, we're going to put it out there and put
Celestine (28:37.39)
But, time me up. Whenever you need someone to speak or you know someone who needs someone to speak, ring me.
Genuinely, if I could write the script of my life for the next 20 years, it would be to speak for a living every single day. I love speaking.
Angela (28:57.768)
So that was going to be one of my next questions. What is the future? If there's something that you'd like to work with or who you'd like to work with or something you'd like to do, is there a chance to manifest, put it out there in the world? What is your dream next steps for future?
Celestine (29:13.646)
So my dream, intention, pursuit, and future reality is to be an international motivational speaker. And I will speak about anything that inspires me. I'll do Ted Talks. I will go into schools. I will go into universities. And I will go into businesses. I will speak during Black History Month and every other month. I will talk about my book. I will talk about making money online.
Angela (29:37.382)
Cool.
Celestine (29:41.57)
And I will try and inspire the next generation because they are our future leaders. And I don't think there's enough people who look like you and I inspiring the next generation. is, it saddens me a bit when I think of everything that they've gone through over the last few years and how bleak things look sometimes when you think about
the environment, what they've had to do, suffer with COVID and lockdown. It's had a permanent effect on people. Not even to mention how disastrous the last government were. And all these things kind of like knock your confidence about the future. And sometimes people can think, what's the point?
And I want to reignite hope and tell them actually, where there's a will, there's a way. So don't give up hope. Put the past behind you and walk that new path to the future because the future can be bright.
Angela (30:57.454)
Yeah, yeah. And also we're really, you know, blessed to be where we are. We're breathing. And if you can do that through your speaking and inspire the next generation, that would be... What more could you ask for?
Celestine (31:10.158)
Yeah, definitely. honestly, like I said, I spoke, I don't mention I spoke in my little girl's school, but I actually spoke in my little boy's nursery as well. And I can't tell you, it warmed my heart just how happy they were just to hear me read poetry. And it was just, it was amazing.
Angela (31:35.64)
They're also nursery age, it's such a young age that they're just like, they'll take everything in and just enjoy everything. And you just think, I you could stay like this and just enjoy it. And yes, what we're doing, we're trying to inspire them to stay like that. And as you said, there's so many things going on outside of the world. It's quite tricky for them to be positive all the time, but hopefully you can spread that through your tools.
Celestine (31:56.59)
I hope so. really hope so. So I just want to do, so over the next few months, going into next year and beyond, I just want to do as many podcasts and talks as I can, just to get the message out there.
Angela (32:17.762)
to Ted Talks. Yeah, of course you can. There are local ones. So there's always local areas. I'm sure there's even one local in East London somewhere. Yeah. I know that Vanessa's been on one and she did one locally. yeah. you can. No. I prefer to speak on panels, should I say, because I don't want to have that whole.
Celestine (32:26.062)
I need to do that.
Celestine (32:31.662)
Have you done one? Would you like to?
Angela (32:43.374)
Spotlight on me. Even though this podcast is mainly me most of the time. But I'm up on a stage and also I'm just, I think my memory, think, but I remember my lines and I'd get nervous about that. But I think all of those things are training. And I maybe have not invested enough time in that training because I'm one of the guests of this season is a gentleman called Festus and he talks, he's a very good public speaker and he'll just, he's just amazing. he'll... the cuff. Off the cuff. And like, he's just like bam, bam, bam. He'll do his talk.
And then he'll still just add some little sprinkles in there. And I just think, how do you do that? And he said it's practice. He said you do the first one, then you do the second one, get some help and just keep going. And then you're done. You just keep going. It's not being cocky. Sorry, just to interrupt. It's not being cocky because sometimes he might come across as like, this, that and the other. It's not like that at all. It's more so confidence, I call it. I call it confidence.
Celestine (33:19.341)
Practice.
Celestine (33:37.902)
The thing is, there's, I know some people say there's a fine line, but the thing is there's nothing wrong with confidence because the audience that you're normally talking to are inspired by that confidence. So, know, why be shy about it? You know what you're about. You are personally inspired by whatever your history is and you're just sharing with other people so they can have a taste.
Angela (34:04.462)
Good take on it. But you know, when you start, especially when I started this podcast, like, who's going to list this? Why would they list this? You know, all those doubts in your head. And then when you get, again, it's just practice once you get going and start listening back to your voice and you think, actually, it's all right. This is a good episode. It's like, you get the comments from people, so you've just got to keep going. it's just, and again, as you said, you don't know who you're going to inspire along the way. again, people sometimes write in, sometimes they don't, or they might send a DM or something. But either way, if I feel like I've inspired somebody,
or you have in this episode. I'm just like, that's, I'm happy. I've done my, we've done our bit.
Celestine (34:38.51)
No, you're right. yeah, just, oh, during the opposite of regret era, I actually went on a couple of radio stations as well, which was, again, absolutely loved it. So it's again, something I'm going to pursue as well.
Angela (34:56.929)
You have got a voice on radio. When you were the radio stations, was it them interviewing you or was you doing the podcast on the radio?
Celestine (35:05.102)
Oh no, they were interviewing me. So they were finding out about my process and how I came about. The show and what inspires me and what I plan to do in the future. So yeah, it was nice.
Angela (35:10.616)
Yeah,
Angela (35:19.15)
Nice. So is there anything else you'd like to add? So I'm going to end up with a round up question. So if there's some topics you want to do, we can do it.
Celestine (35:27.552)
Just wanted to say in terms of me personally, everyone's different, but for me, one of my biggest sources of inspiration growing up was my mom. Because she largely raised us, there's five of us, she largely raised us as a single mom. I've got a stepdad now and he's amazing, but for the formative years of my life, my mom just really inspired me because she...
She was a nurse and she worked a lot of long hours. But before she was a nurse, she took the decision to train, which took her three years in total. And people said she was crazy. You've got these young kids. are you training right now? You're not making any money. But she said, no, I know why I'm doing this because I'm investing in the future and the future is going to be bright.
Once I finish my training, I'm going to be a qualified nurse. and it's, you know, it's a good career. And she did that, whilst having five kids and yeah, I just think she's amazing. And, so I just think if you're looking for inspiration, look for the people around you and there should be someone in your life, that inspires you. another,
Another source of inspiration was teachers that I had in school that noted my skill or talent for writing and just encouraged me and said, Celestine, you're good at this. Pursue it.
Angela (37:15.438)
And that's amazing how the teachers at the time to actually say that to you. We know sometimes the education system sometimes doesn't favor certain brown boys, black boys. So yeah, that's really cool. And you've done it throughout your career and you're doing it creatively now.
Celestine (37:31.478)
Yes, exactly. That's my pursuit. Because the dream is full time. Brilliant. That's the dream. Brilliant. So good will.
Angela (37:40.078)
Brilliant. So to end on a few more questions, if you don't mind. Yeah, sure. What would you tell your future self? No, sorry, I'm going to say it again. What would you tell your teenage self?
Celestine (37:52.002)
I would tell my teenage self, publish sooner. Don't wait for this magic moment in the future when you're comfortable, when you've got so much time in your hands, when you're in the right space of mind. No. Get these 40 or 30 poems that you have already at such a young age and just publish them. And also invest in Bitcoin.
Yeah, investing Apple as well. Yeah, definitely. Google. Don't forget Google.
Angela (38:24.942)
The best in Apple.
Angela (38:33.07)
buy a property when you're really young. And don't sell it. All those things. You remind me of that film. I was watching that on the weekend, actually, Back to the Future Free. he went back, was it when he had the, somebody was telling him about the film. He had the playbook. He had to work out the bets. He was like, going to make a million dollars. I was like, that's what we need. Can we make one of those?
Celestine (38:38.478)
Yes.
Celestine (38:58.104)
Thank you.
Angela (39:01.454)
Quickfire five questions, one or the other. Crisp or chocolate?
Celestine (39:06.03)
Chocolate all day, all day.
Angela (39:08.028)
Book her kids though.
Celestine (39:10.446)
I would say books because I don't actually... no, do I own a Kindle? No, I don't.
Angela (39:20.692)
Gavin does some work, books, Beach or forest?
Celestine (39:25.174)
H.
Angela (39:26.542)
Right, Gansu?
Celestine (39:28.743)
Reggae. So, not both if I could, but Reggae.
Angela (39:34.158)
Patty or Sandwich?
Celestine (39:38.606)
I
Angela (39:39.741)
Yeah, that's Nice one. Thank you so much, Celeste. When we tell people where they can find you and they want to connect with you, how would they do that?
Celestine (39:48.042)
in lots of ways.
Celestine (39:52.366)
So I've got a few channels. The main one is, I'm on LinkedIn. So just search for me, Celestina Peñon, I'm on LinkedIn. But also you can find me on 50 before 50. And that is on Instagram. I'm going to be setting up a TikTok, so look out for that. But also I've got another channel for inspiring people to...
have new ideas on how to make money online and that's called the Prince of Ideas. So I am the Prince of Ideas. know we didn't talk about that. But we can talk about that in the second session. I'm sure I'll be back again.
Angela (40:31.118)
What about that?
Angela (40:35.118)
Yeah, definitely. Or you can tell us about the creators like us. Exactly. But they can find you all those places and I'll put the links in the show notes. Thank you so much for joining me.
Celestine (40:38.818)
Yes.
Angela (40:49.486)
Thanks for listening to Creatives Like Us. If this conversation resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it today. That's how we build our communities and amplify our voices. You can find all the show notes and the links at linescreative.co.uk podcast and connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram. I'd love to see you there. Also make my day if you can leave a review or comment in your listening platform choice. And it's really easy in Spotify. Leave it in the comments. Until next time, keep creating and keep supporting creatives like us.
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