JAKE SHORE - From The Classroom To The Club

Jake Shore is a rising star in the house music scene, known for his high-energy sets and an authenticity that’s built him a loyal following. After years as a school teacher, Jake made the leap into music full-time, and now he’s touring, creating non-stop, and building a brand that’s truly his own.

In this episode, we dive into Jake’s journey from teaching to the stage, the content strategies that have taken his social media to new heights, and his disciplined 10X mindset for success. We also chat about staying balanced, the importance of gratitude, and what it takes to build a long-lasting career in the music industry.

Follow Jake Shore here:
https://www.instagram.com/itsjakeshore
https://www.tiktok.com/@itsjakeshore

Follow Nik Cherwink here:
https://www.instagram.com/nikcherwink

And visit my site to join the mailing list or book a free coaching call:
https://www.nikcherwink.com

Transcript

Jake Shore: 0:00

think that's important for anybody who has accomplished things in their life and maybe, the dreams that they had two or three years ago, they have accomplished. You got to set new ones. You've got to set new goals, but that also means you've got to change your identity again. You're not that person anymore because you've already done that. So now it's about what are the things that are going to get you to be that new vision.

Nik: 0:32

What's up, everybody. Welcome to the headliner mindset podcast. Today's guest is a house music producer and DJ who left his career as an elementary school teacher to go full time with music. Now he's living out his dream, playing shows all over the country, getting millions of streams on Spotify and getting support from the biggest artists in the scene. In this episode, we dig deep into his social media strategy and how he's built a loyal and engaged audience, the mindset it takes to succeed as an artist in the music industry, the power of gratitude, the importance of networking and much more. This is Jake Shore. Jake, welcome to the show, brother. Stoked to have you here. Glad we can make this happen.

Jake Shore: 1:08

Absolutely. What's up, man? How are you? Thanks for having me on.

Nik: 1:11

I'm good, man. I'm good. You know, I had uh, been hit up, maybe a couple of months ago by somebody from your management team and, and they were pitching to get you on the podcast and I'll be honest at first, I didn't know who you were, but But I got to dive in a little bit and I'm like, all right, let me, let me check this guy out. Let me see what he's up to. And, you know, I was listening to the tunes. I was like, all right, this is some fucking cool house music. I'm a house guy. I fuck with that. But it was when I went to your Instagram and I saw you just like busting out dance moves in your Instagram videos. And I was like, this guy is a fucking vibe. It's a hell yeah for me. We got to get them on. So I'm glad that we can make it happen, man.

Jake Shore: 1:49

Oh, man. I appreciate that. And that's good. That means my team's doing their job. I think that was something that task. I put some people on earlier this year because I think, it's so important. I think, you know, there's so many different forms of media and so many different forms of short form media. People are just getting that, Quick two, three, seven second, like vibe of somebody and making a decision where I think it's still so important that like Media like this exists where you can sit down and really get to know the ins and outs of somebody So I think the things that you saw is like what gets you Acclimated and allows you to make that second decision like okay. Yeah, I can see us having a conversation So it's good But this is what I really enjoy doing because I think my story is one that is transformational and can be also applied to so many other people. I think it's that story of the American dream, right? You go from doing one thing and kind of starting from scratch and then turning it into something that you love and Making a career out of it. As cliche as that sounds like I feel like the only way you can really tell that in full is by sitting down and Talking with people. So yeah, man, I'm happy that you you saw that I'm sure there's a lot of people that cringe when they see it But if you're not making people cringe, you're not doing shit these days, so I'm happy

Nik: 3:05

You're gonna repel the people that are not for you. And you're going to attract the people that are for you, you know,, and that's the big thing. I talked to artists about this all the time is it's like, we know, the game is about more than just music, right? And music, is, as we say, music is just the soundtrack to the movie, what's gonna get me actually excited to see it? an hour chatting with you. What's going to get me excited to be like, Oh, I got to go pay 50 bucks to go see this person play. Everybody's putting out music, right? But if you're not actually saying anything, you're not actually doing anything. Like you, you got a story. I'm excited to dive into your story. It's like, Oh, that's really. That's really interesting. And so, artists out there, like we gotta be, showing more of ourselves and putting yourself out there in a way that actually gets people interested beyond the music. Cause again, it's like, there's a hundred thousand songs and I just confirmed the statistic the other day. There's a hundred thousand songs being uploaded to Spotify every single day You're right. So if

Jake Shore: 3:59

what makes you different? Right. Exactly. And vice versa, you know, we can even chop into this too. You know, I've been blessed to understand the landscape of social media. And I think I was really ahead of the curve early on, whereas like now, I think it's very well known that if you're an artist, you just have to do it. You have to find your lane with it. as much as I feel like I have a really good grasp on it, It's funny because, I'm kind of going through an identity shift myself where I really want to make sure that I'm known as the artist first and as the person who makes dope music first.

Nik: 4:34

Mm hmm.

Jake Shore: 4:34

And then I feel like I have that foundation on the social media side to tell the story and speak the brand and all the things that a lot of people are searching for. I'm glad that you dug the music. I think I still have so much more to show. And I know for me, it's that 20 percent of all the things I'm doing, that's going to actually 10x my life. And so, I've had such a big shift in like, it sounds crazy because you're like, you're an artist. Shouldn't you be focused on music? Well, yes. With all the other things we got going on, I can be honest. And it really hadn't been the everyday focus, the everyday workout. So that's the realm I'm in right now. And you may not notice it. People may not notice it, but like, yes, social media has like kind of taken a backseat a little bit. I have like my motions and I have like my routines and just my system to make it seem like. I'm posting every day and that I'm keeping up with it. But to me, it's the music man that is going to actually set this off. And like I said, I think I've done a almost a reverse approach where maybe artists have like tons of music, but they have no social media or they have no brand where I feel like I've established that and now I'm just like really honing in on making sure that the music is going to,

Nik: 5:45

sure. Yeah,

Jake Shore: 5:46

set fire on the world. So it is. Yeah. At the end of the

Nik: 5:50

it's the art and the business, right? We gotta be, we gotta master both sides of it. And I think you're doing a great job of that. I definitely was I was bumping your tunes, driving this morning. I was like, all right, let me like, let me fucking rock out to this for a

Jake Shore: 6:02

Let's go. Yeah, you got to get, got to get in the

Nik: 6:04

cool. I mean even with the music, a lot of your stuff has that like kind of nineties, two thousands throwback

Jake Shore: 6:10

Yep. Yep.

Nik: 6:11

even the music has. Kind of a brand to it also. Before we get into that, I actually really want to get into your story because you were a teacher and. And then went full time with music. So that's something I always really love to dig into. I think most people are out there, they're working their nine to five. they've got their job, but they've also got, the dream, what I call the real career that they're usually working on as a side hustle. Take me back to, when you were a teacher and when you knew that it was time to go all in with music.

Jake Shore: 6:43

Yeah. this is a popular question, but I think, like I said, it's the core of my story. And I think the reason why it's such a popular question and people really want to know this answer is simply because there are so many people that. are looking to do the same thing right now. I think, we've been sold this idea since we were young kids that you got to go to college and get the 9 to 5 and then work your way up. And a lot of people, I think, are realizing now. Wait, wait, wait, you can do what you love and you could do it with this thing or, you know, a laptop so. to kind of rewind back. Yeah, I was a school teacher for eight years fresh out of college, and that was a passion and a love of mine. I don't regret it at all. I did and still do love education and just working with people and working with, kids. And still have a lot of those teacher mentalities like when I'm just working with people in business, etcetera. But yeah, I came out of University of Illinois and was an elementary school teacher, got my degree in that. So I taught fifth grade for the first three years of that and then got tenured, taught second grade, same school, flipped and taught third grade. So I was my principal's best friend in a lot of ways because a lot of teachers don't like to flip flop. But I was like, sure, let's do it. to me, it was a team player, but I also, then I got to know different teams with around the building. I mean, by the time I was done there, I knew all the teachers, their families, et cetera. But, uh,

Nik: 8:08

music this whole time

Jake Shore: 8:09

Yeah. Yeah. So I'm moonlit as a DJ the entire time I've been DJing. I've DJed longer than I have been a producer and an artist, but within that time I learned a lot about myself, right? There was also a time where the DJing was more of like a kind of just a popularity thing. And, I was young buck, 22 year old running around the city, the DJ, whatever. I quickly grew into the understanding that like, there's, The career side of it. And then there's like the party aspect of it. And eventually came to a crossroads about, I think it's probably around 2018 or so 2019, where I actually felt like, okay, I had plateaued. I was doing all the same local venues and just the run of the mill, like every weekend, same places was starting to kind of get taken under by all the, the vices that come along with the scene. And. Toxicities, if you will, and decided to kind of like I actually took a break from DJing for almost a year. and that gave me a lot of perspective. It was also the same time I put down alcohol for the first time in my life. And, when I came back, I think around 2019, I did look at it as like I had this vision of like, okay, I want to do this differently. And I want to do it as an artist. And didn't really know how to do that. But, slowly realized, okay, I got to take less gigs in the Chicago area. I got to be very specific about what type of shows I do. And really start to put that up. But I also had to start making music. So, 2019 into 2020, boom, COVID hit, right? I had been starting to make music. I had stopped drinking alcohol. I was focused. I was dialed in. COVID hit. And, to be honest, I know a lot of people struggled during covid and when it hit. But for me, you know, teaching was super minimal. They didn't know what to do. Like that first like six months was really just me sending off an email of like activities to do.

Nik: 10:02

Yeah.

Jake Shore: 10:02

For me. It was like the first time now. I was like, you know, I got a whole day to make music. So I dialed in dove in and just started making music like crazy and learning and was just a student and just absorbed. and really it took advantage of the fact that it didn't have to go into work. fast forward to now 20 21, 20 22, I think Covid was like that real like aha moment that made me realize, yo, if you're gonna do this, you gotta go do it.'cause the world could be over tomorrow. so that was the spur of it, but I think it still took until like 2022. I came back the next year. I knew I didn't really want to do this anymore, but it was my paycheck, whatever. Was the spring of 2022. You have to put in your leave of absence in like February and then finish out the rest of the year as a 10 year teacher so that you can come back. It's just leave of absence. So I let them know in February of 2022 that I was going to be taking a leave of absence. And I That following March I started to pick up TikTok. TikTok I noticed was like starting to become like a thing And you know, I was doing the typical like stream this and trying to promote my music on there I realized that like wasn't it So I really started to like think to myself what's gonna be something that I can do every single day Very easily that's gonna provide some type of like value like entertainment value Educational value whatever it is because I realized that's what gets people on TikTok TikTok is like, if you provide some value, they're going to like it, engage with it. So I, you know, every day to work, I was bumping some house music and I was like dancing in my car. It's just how I got ready for the day. And I was like, yo, this is what I'll do. I'll just pull over, pull up to work 30 minutes early, set up shop in my car and dance to a song and be like, yo, this is me, the house music that you should start your day with. And it was a way to give people like new music. Entertain them,. And then I carried that over to the classroom. So I started doing that as the kids would walk into school every day. I would set up my camera with the back, bulletin board behind me and the calendar. I was at my teacher's desk and you could hear the kids reactions to the music I was showing them, and then I started leveraging my music and one thing led to another and it kind of just took off. Like Tik Tok is like, man, I really understood the power of it. During those days because it's set down my phone and pick it up 15 20 minutes later And it's just like crazy like I couldn't even focus

Nik: 12:30

Yeah.

Jake Shore: 12:31

and then a couple other videos went viral because like my gym teacher started to play house music in his classroom in the classroom And they were at gym and I went to go pick them up one time and the gym was like black lit and they were Doing like a cosmic bowling unit and they were playing my song and like Newsweek picked it up Barstool picked it up. Like it just is crazy. It kind of spiraled and just the parents loved it. The school loved it. Everybody was on board and all I knew was like, yo, I'm leaving. This is like either the universe's way of being like, yo, you're go ahead, kid. Or I was like, don't leave. But I had a feeling like it was more so the opposite. It was like. This is you're meant to do this and we're going to usher you out. You know what I mean? So it was great man. I couldn't have asked for a better way to leave teaching. like I said the universe's way of just like Telling me it's time and then since then man, I just have been cooking I just you know leveraged everything from there and really kept pushing and just being myself because I knew teaching Was going so I couldn't keep making those type of videos, but I just realized I just needed to be myself

Nik: 13:35

Yeah, that's the big part that I hear about it. I think everybody's trying to figure out like, oh, yeah, how do I create buzz? How do I well really? I think people are trying to think how do I go viral which isn't really the best way to be thinking about it, but it's like, how do I create buzz? But What I hear in your story is you were already rocking out to house music every day that you were driving to work anyways, you know, like, it sounds like you were probably already like dancing with the kids and having fun and shit anyways,

Jake Shore: 13:59

Yep. I was always showing them music.

Nik: 14:02

Yeah. it's not so like manufactured. And I think maybe that's a great place to look for. Anybody that's thinking of like, yeah, what's my thing? what can I do? It's like, well, look at yourself. Right? Stop looking outside at like, well, don't look at what Jake's doing. Jake was a school teacher and he was, he's a house guy, and he was, that's his thing. That's what he was doing, but like, what's the thing that you're already doing that might be cool, that might be interesting, that might be inspiring, that might be educational, you know, Like what? What's that?

Jake Shore: 14:28

I tell people you, people forget that you are the niche. Everybody's like, what's my niche? What's my niche? You are the niche. The craziest thing that people forget is that there is only one you. There's no, but I mean you're gonna have a lot of commonalities and tendencies that other people have but that's what draws them to you, right? They find that connection, but there's only one you and I am a firm believer. Here's the teacher in me that every certain person, every person has something to offer, has something special about them that they can give that is actually valuable. It could be your story. It could be The way you were brought up. It could be the way you look. It could be the things you create. It could be the vibe or the energy you provide. It could be all three of those things. I always tell people you have to understand that you provide value and it's actually not you that people really care about. It's the value you provide to them on the other side of that screen. But looking inwards and asking yourself, what is something I do That not only provides value to me, but can provide value to other people because that's how we as human beings actually scroll. You stop at things, you pause on things, you like things, you share things that mean something to you. That either make you happy, angry, excited, laugh, that educate you, that inspire you. You don't do that because of the person on the other side. Now, after a long time, of maybe seeing that person and really get, those are your super fans, right? But in general, those viral posts, the majority of those people, they found something that value that was valuable to them. And that's why the post went viral. And then, segueing that into like back to what artists and creators themselves can think about. Think about, what makes you different. But also think about something that you do every day, because then you can scale the content, right? You found the thing that makes you different. You wanna showcase that, that's the content. But you wanna find something that you can do almost easily every single day because then you can scale it. And then that's the other piece of it, right? It's like you do the same thing. You see some of the biggest creators, something you should probably you'd notice about them is like. They have the same background. They're doing the same thing. It's just a new episode each time. And that's what helps them go viral because you create like that familiarity with your audience. Like, oh yeah, that's the guy who sits at his, studio or his takes the video from his office or is walking down the street. Like those things matter too. So yeah, it's a whole realm of things, but it comes back to the, yeah, just being yourself for sure is the huge piece I think to take away. Yeah.

Nik: 17:03

Yeah. So, what's the game look like now for you? You know, there was this phase of, I'm just putting out TikToks with the kids and everything. And it's like, okay now you're at a different stage in your career. You were starting to say how now you're starting to shift a bit more onto the music, where are you at now? And how do you see yourself getting to the next level in your career? at this stage

Jake Shore: 17:24

I think right now I feel like I have a good circle, like we call them pillars. I call them pillars in my content game. And their direct relation of what I'm actually doing in my real life. Like I said, right. So like I'm not teaching anymore, so I can't make the teaching videos. There actually was a time where I was thinking about like crafting a bulletin board and keeping those going, but it just would have got seen through immediately. Right. And that's the tricky thing too, like, my life has changed so much, so I've had to adapt and change so much of my content. And luckily, in each phase, I have found a next level of buzz, or whatever you want to call it. Right now, I am constantly making music, I'm touring, and I have to, like, really build out, what I Type of content I want to make within those things. So like right now, my four different pieces of content is I try and get one set recorded in full a month. So we look at the calendar and we're like, okay, this is going to be a dope set, super sick production. The crowd is going to be, is going to be awesome. Let's make sure we get this like a multi cam. And then what I do from there is I think, how can I make this work for me? so lot of people will just film a set or they'll film something from a set. They'll post it that one time in that week and then there go on to the next one. And to me, that's such a waste because if it's all about scaling, right? So like if you think about it in one set, I probably play like 50 songs. So to me, that's 50 drops. That's 50 reels that I can narrate now a story or a hook behind. I caught a lot of buzz recently with it's called group chat. It's a show in L. A. That's like a 3 60 show. And, you know, yes, of course. Yeah, he's a good friend of mine. And like he had me on there and I knew that was a huge content play. I knew that not only is he a dope, he's got a dope thing going on out there. And it was just like, you know, a good look. But I knew that it was gonna really be great content, especially for me. The way that I perform in a 3 60 is like, heaven, right? Because I interact. I'm like WWE mode. Like I'm fucking in there. Stone Cold Steve Austin. I don't even think I posted all the videos, but so that's one realm of it, right? Like that's one pillar and you think 50 reels, that could be like a whole month and a half worth of content. So that's if I just posted once a day, but then I have another pillar. Where it's like, I do these, I do podcasts, right? So you're recording this, like if, you know, we hadn't talked about it, but hopefully we can get some clips from this, right? But,

Nik: 19:56

definitely

Jake Shore: 19:57

when I try and do one podcast a month and shit, in an hour's podcast, again, you could get 30 to 50,

Nik: 20:05

been so lazy, bro. That's been all my content, since I started the podcast. Like, I haven't even been making my own anymore, because I'm like, I got an hour a week, you know? that I'm just pulling from.

Jake Shore: 20:14

and it depends on what, you want to put out there, right? But that's 30 to 50 pieces of content. Again, now it's like, I have two pieces of content a day I can post for a month. We ain't done. Then I have the, walk down the street like lip sync videos that I've been pushing now for my like my actual music, right?

Nik: 20:31

Yeah. That's what I saw, bro. When I saw that, I was like, oh, this is so fun,

Jake Shore: 20:35

And to me, that's all that's a whole right? That's a hole in the DJ world. Where a lot of DJs are doing the sets and a lot of DJs are like showcasing like they're sitting in their studio and they're like, imagine this at 3 a. m. at the club, right? Everybody does that. I don't get it, right? We're DJs and we make music and house music, but nobody dances, nobody knows how to dance. I've been dancing since I was a kid. What you see is what you get. And to me, I'm like, yo, I need to take advantage of this. And the whole rap game right now, all the young kids in the rap game that are coming up and are really dialed in with their content, they're making these short form music videos. If you look at guys like Bishop Snow, there's a guy named, What's his name? I forget his name right now, but he's so good at it. He makes these videos, short form music videos and they're dancing and it's bringing that kind of back. I started doing those and so I'll take a day or two out of the month. I'll have my guy fly to here in Miami or I'll go, we'll go to a location. We'll film again, 30 videos, maybe five, six of each song that I want to push out. And now I have one of those for the next month. So you can see now how I'm starting to push out. People are like, how do you make three to four videos a day? What's really I just pick three days out of the month and I batch a shit ton of them and I get them edited and now I finally have a fourth one that I'm starting and it's, I've been, oh man, I've been trying to build it out for so long and it feels so good that I finally have something in my apartment. My girlfriend gave me a nice square footage, the closet to build out my little studio. But not only did I build out the studio, I built out like a corner, Where it's basically all 90s memorabilia. I have like milk crates in the corner with like an old TV playing like ECW, like WWF pay per views. I got the WWF belt. I got all the hats, the jerseys. I got a little clothing rack that looks like a thrift store. So it's like this corner. And I have the 360 cam in the corner. So it gets like this really wide angle fish eye and I'm going to start doing like quick cuts. Like that is my version of in the studio. Like this is what I made today. So now I'm showcasing the new stuff, right? I'm showcasing the stuff that I like made today. And so I'm trying to hit all of these corners. Right. Man, between all four of those, like I said, you have shit ton of content and I don't expect all of it to go viral. It's all based on, like, I read a book recently, and I can send it to you. It's like building your superfans. I forget who it's from. But the idea is, you have a pyramid as an artist of fans. You have your top of the funnel, top of the pyramid fans that are, gonna find you, through your viral videos and just, those, top of the funnel videos that are gonna get you hooked. Then you have, that middle of the pyramid fans that are going to, Watch everything you do, but they may be not they're not gonna be always into everything you do, but there's a good chance They're gonna like it. They're gonna share it Then you have like your bottom that meet super fans that are going to love everything you do They're gonna want to hear those podcasts of it those clips They're gonna watch and they're gonna join your membership channel you can make a country song and they're gonna love it, right? So, if you think of all the content I just went through, those viral, videos from my sets, those are going to be the top of the funnel, right? Those are going to get you hooked. The ones of me doing the lip syncing music videos, those are a little different. Not everybody's going to like those. Some people are going to think they're cringy, but for the fans, like yourself, right? You're going to be like, yo, this is actually kind of sick. That's for the middle of the funnel. People that really want to know my story, they want to know who I am, they want to know what I think, they want to know how I talk, they're going to watch the podcast videos. So I'm trying to hit all those levels with the content that I'm pushing out so that you can't not know what you're getting, it is a strategic plan and it's taken quite a long time for me to get this motion. It seems like my output is every day in actuality. It's probably five days of the month where three of the days I'm filming two of the days. I'm like drafting maybe three days. I'm drafting and just getting things set out, right? And it's not perfect. Some months. I'm really, really on it in the last two months, last couple of weeks. It's just, you gotta remember it now I'm touring and then real life happens. And there's, there's things I want to film in real time, which is great too. Cause it's like, I have all these things batched. Honestly, sometimes I fight myself because it's like I have all this stuff batched and ready to go and I have these pillars set in stone. But I really like running and gunning and like just filming stuff off. I feel like some, that's some of my best stuff and it's, it comes across as the most organic. So I'm always testing stuff too,

Nik: 25:15

that's another pillar right there is just free form lifestyle content.

Jake Shore: 25:19

Free ballin it, baby. Yeah.

Nik: 25:21

I love how you broke it down. And I really want to encourage everybody to go back and listen to the last 10, 15 minutes of this because yo straight up, that is a masterclass. As let's just shift out of, you're being, you gotta be an artist, you gotta make music, you gotta have fun in the studio. You got to do that part and If you want to get out of the bedroom and you want to turn this into a career, you also got to be a business owner. And so you just broke down the marketing department of your

Jake Shore: 25:47

Exactly. That's how you have to think of it, right. The business side of it is those, think of those as all of those are ads that you don't pay for. Social media has disrupted the marketing industry. Everybody has went to college for marketing, and like in the last 10 years, everybody You didn't learn anything about what you got to know now. That's the crazy part. So think of it that way. Those are all ads that I don't pay for.

Nik: 26:10

It's the same way that any. Company out there would be running their marketing department. maybe you also can run ads. There's other ways of marketing. But when it comes to social media marketing, it really is one, figure out what are your pillars, what are the four or five different categories of content, for me, it's Podcast clips. I can also just talk to the camera and just talk about educational stuff or inspiring stuff. And also maybe just lifestyle stuff. I want to just show, my lifestyle going out and having fun or whatever, right? There's three content buckets, three content pillars. And then what you really hit on, man, is that content batching side of it is yeah, it shouldn't be something that you're waking up every day being like, what do I post today? What do I post today? It's like, no, you have those. Three or four days that you just dedicate to making as much content as you can. And then you do that for the whole week. I'm considering starting to do that with my podcast where I'm like, I'm just going to record four episodes in one day and then send them off. And I'm like, okay, cool. Now I got a whole month of podcasts taken care of rather than, doing them every week. So, trying to step into that myself, but yeah, content pillars and content batching. Like it's really cool to see. It's like, theoretically, I think a lot of people know this, but to see you actually executing it is really inspiring and seeing what's possible with that. Like, you're posting, every day, you're getting a lot of stuff out there, And you're just, yeah, you got like a well oiled machine

Jake Shore: 27:32

I think it's important to bring it back to the main reason why I've tried to set up these systems. Cause you know, there may be some artists that watch this and they're like, yo, What am I doing? I'm not doing that at all and don't take a breath. It's all good Like it's not as easy. I'm not it's not as easy as I'm making it seem it's a lot of it's a lot of discipline right and not every week not every month is perfect But it's like the law of detachment. I've been really big about that lately Again, you maybe heard me say it earlier. I mentioned the term 10x Right now, I'm 10x'ing my life, and there's a book, another book, I've been an avid reader recently called 10x is easier than 2x. And the idea is that if you're, in order to 10x your life, it's actually easier than 2x ing your life. Because 2x ing is just doing more of what you're already doing. 10x ing is actually doing less to get more. And focusing in on the 20%, because everybody can stay busy. There was a time in the last 6 months, this year, where I found myself so busy. But not productive, right? I think we've all been there. Looking at scope of the things you do in a week or a given month and asking yourself out of those percent of things that you're doing. What's the 20 percent that's going to actually change your life? And for me, it's music. It's making music. And in order to make great music, you gotta attain it to like working out. In order to get the body that you want, you gotta be in the gym every day. But you're not going to go to the gym one day, and just all of a sudden you have a great day in the gym, and all of a sudden you have this massive bicep, right? It takes consistency and a thousand shitty days in the gym to get the body that you want, right? Takes a thousand times, thousand days of writing music and just working out to get the hit. If I'm focusing on content, I'm not focusing on the part of my life that's going to 10x. But, I also know that content is important and it's part of the business. So, I had to set up a system in which I can do this. in a short amount of my month as possible. And I'm still scaling. I'm still putting more content out there, but I've detached myself from it in the sense that I'm scheduling stuff. I'm not looking or caring about what it does. It's funny when you don't care about what it does. I've had more videos go viral than I thought when I was like on it every day, like how's it doing right? Or I've had more videos go viral two weeks later. After I posted it and it's all because I've detached from it, man. So I think that's the other thing as artists and just people in general, we are the closest to our own output in our own creations. We're the only ones who really care what the video does. Nobody goes to your social media and is sitting there like, did this post go viral? Did this post do well? That nobody's doing that. Nobody's doing that. Trust me, nobody cares. And I take that from Gary V. He posts every other video nowadays. He's like, nobody gives a shit about you. But

Nik: 30:39

and also because there's also so much shit coming out all the time. It's like whatever you post, It's like when I see your post in the next three minutes, I'm gonna see 45 other posts,

Jake Shore: 30:49

you're gonna forget the one you just saw. And it's just like, it's a never ending So just You'll be doing yourself a disservice if you don't post out there. I just had this conversation with my girlfriend. She's so good on camera. She literally could make so much money. But she has a lot of that kind of Internal demonization of like I'm not getting the likes and follows. I'm not you know getting this but dude Nobody cares as much as you you are the one who cares and like it's a very hard thing To get past for a lot of people and I go Through it too, right? there's been moments where I Get that feeling to where I'm like fuck like this isn't working and then you know We look at if it's not working Then you pivot and you find something that does work, but you got to get out of your own way I've realized and like at the end of the day, there's just so much going out right now as we've been on this interview this podcast Thousands and thousands and thousands of videos have gone up

Nik: 31:44

Oh, yeah.

Jake Shore: 31:45

It's just, dude, you gotta stop beating yourself up and just detach from it. Set yourself up with some systems so that you can put your stuff out there. And just let it work for itself, man. Because you trying to control everything, especially with the social media shit, is like That's a crazy game to try and play, bro. It's a losing game.

Nik: 32:03

Yeah. So, you have someone, that you send your stuff off to, to get edited.

Jake Shore: 32:07

for the DJ sets, yes. for the walk down the street videos, yes. For the ones that i'm doing now in my like studio closet fisheye ones. I'll do those for right now

Nik: 32:19

cause, this brings up an important, Piece of this conversation as well, which is building a team, right? Because you can only do so much yourself. Also, you want to, you want a 10 X, right? It's like, okay, cool. There is a point in everybody's journey and building their business, whatever their businesses, myself included, that we got to start hiring. and building that team out. So having a social media person is probably, one of the best and first hires that a lot of people could have, even probably before you have a manager, an agent, it's going to be worth investing in, Getting somebody on board. how did you find your person? Do you have any recommendations for how to find a good social media person? Am I, I'm kind of asking this for myself. Also, I'll just put this out there. If anybody is listening, I am still in the process of trying to find a good, podcast editor and clip maker. So hit me up if you got those skills, but, how'd you find yours?

Jake Shore: 33:10

Yeah, I mean they kind of found me I think it's the guys who edit My stuff are really just the guys who film my stuff right now I have like two cameramen. One for the, walk down the street, lip sync videos. I really need a good name for those, but, and then one for the sets. I really have two dudes, and they do their own editing. They're just so quick with it, and I don't even have to blink. A lot of the podcast ones, most people, when I do a podcast, they have their own podcast. they just source me the clips. It's just a system right now that works. I haven't had to personally outsource a specific editor just yet. I think eventually I, I will. But, yeah, I mean, that's, they kind of just have found me and I think, It really comes down to, I've realized with any, content creator or, cameraman or editor, you got to make sure that you are just very, very clear and over communicate what your expectations are. I think the best ones understand that like time is money and the real work doesn't start until after the filming has done. I can't do anything if I don't have the product in my hand. So, those turnarounds are very, very important. And you gotta be very explicit with that person on what the turnaround needs to be and make sure that, that's very clear and that they're getting paid for that. But, I think more than anything, those are the things I've learned, when looking for people and working with people you got to make sure that those expectations are very clear. because yeah, getting stuff a week, two weeks later is not going to work these days. Like I got to have things ready to go. I wish I could put you on to a podcast editor, but I don't even really know one to be honest with you. I just, like I said, I just kind of source them from whoever's doing, I'm doing the podcast with.

Nik: 34:51

yeah, for sure, for sure. So, I'm curious about at this stage in your career, what are some of the biggest challenges that you face?

Jake Shore: 35:01

I think for me, there's a couple. I think sometimes I can get very caught up in not realizing how good I have it, and not stopping and smelling the roses. That's a good question. I've tried to be a lot more, stop and smell the roses mindset in the sense of like, dude, I get to do this. I get to do this. And there's so many people. There's so many young kids and so many people that would die to do what I'm doing., in the sense of traveling and playing different places but I think I have definitely created a bit of a foundational name in the house music world and just I'm very blessed to have that. And I need to remember on days where maybe I don't want to wake up at 7 a. m. and fly to so and so or I don't want to be in this hotel. I don't, I'm tired or whatever. Just remember to be blessed at what you do. Because. Just two years ago, I was teaching. I was waking up at 6 30 every morning, driving 45 minutes and teaching kids, which I loved, but there's a lot of parts about it that I don't miss at all.

Nik: 36:04

Do you have a gratitude practice that you do at all?

Jake Shore: 36:08

I do. There's streaks when I'm really good about it. And then there's times that I'm not. And so thank you for the reminder. I have been trying to be a lot more purposeful with how I wake up in the morning, and it's not always easy. And I probably need to get back into it. I've kind of fell off in the past couple weeks. But yeah, I practice every morning. I try and just reflect on the day before on what went well and what didn't go well and what I need to work on and how I can get better at it. And then I also speak, a minute or so until what I'm grateful for. Either it be the people in my life, the teams in my life, the actions, the opportunities, etc. And then I talk about I think about my vision and what are some of those 10x goals that I have and really just envisioning myself. How can I, get them today? How can I get them in the Midterm, how can I get them in the long term? So yeah, I do practice those.

Nik: 37:01

this is a big pillar of my practice because I do coaching really life coaching really for artists and I help people with the business side of it as well, but it really is more so on that side of it. And similar to how you talked about going to the gym. And developing that muscle and putting in that, that thousand reps, you know, those thousand workouts, gratitude is kind of the same thing we got to like train ourselves and discipline ourselves because there is so much stuff happening outside of us. That's telling us like what we don't have yet. like what we still got all this shit to work on. We're not as far as we want to be. It's like our mind is always going to focus on that and having a, an actual intentional practice. Cause we don't naturally always go to gratitude, you know, we don't, we don't naturally wake up and be like, Oh my God, I'm so blessed. I'm so happy. It's like, we kind of have to train ourselves, you know?

Jake Shore: 37:50

That's a good point, man

Nik: 37:52

So something I just thought of right now that was just coming to me for all like DJs that are traveling is it's like To have it be what would we call that like just like a trigger, That it's like every time you sit down in your seat on an airplane You spend the first few minutes practicing gratitude. Every time your ass hits the airplane

Jake Shore: 38:12

I take the challenge.

Nik: 38:13

That's gonna be my new, that's gonna be my new thing for clients.

Jake Shore: 38:17

I like that. I like that. I think that's good too. I think that's something I've realized Is if I almost make, little games with it. Games probably isn't the best word for it, but just challenges or something like that. is a good way for me to it's a mnemonic, I guess, right? It's a way to remember it. It's a way to just build it in. So I like that. I think on the topic of gratitude, something that struck me on the reason why I fully believe in the gratitude movement and just the practice of it it's really, really hard to be. Pissed off, angry, full of fear, full of doubt when you are practicing gratitude. I dare you to try it, right? Like when you are practicing it, yeah, you can't. and so for that, I think that's why it's so important to get into those reps. And you're right, just like anything else, And sometimes it's hard to connect those, right? It's like, I can say that about making music and working out, but I didn't really think about it with gratitude, right? It is, you gotta practice it every day. You gotta work yourself out with it. And that's how it ends up growing and being bigger., But no, I think there's definitely things, other things that I struggle with, man. I think,

Nik: 39:19

Yeah.

Jake Shore: 39:25

like where I want it to go and where my 10 X goals are and like what they're going to take. Challenging myself out most outside of music. I've had people ask me recently, what's one of your hobbies? Crickets, then that I know in my head like mindfulness wise. I know that that's not good, right? Very important because what was my hobby has become my career

Nik: 39:48

Yeah.

Jake Shore: 39:48

Which you know is it has helped me in so many ways right because I can work all day But you have to have some type of hobby And so recently I finally picked up something I did pickleball last week for an hour or no Wasn't pickleballs paddle

Nik: 40:04

There we go.

Jake Shore: 40:04

I haven't played pickleball, but I feel like I like paddle a little bit more because it's just, it's like that medium between tennis and pickleball. I played for four hours, you have to be so present when you're doing shit like that, right? You can't think about anything else, not to mention it was so much fun. I met a bunch of people that I otherwise would not have met, That was great. I also feel for me, something that I struggle with is as I've grown as an artist, things start to kind of get desensitized. There was a point where like meeting certain artists was like such a big deal to me. And, it's so funny how once you meet that artist, it kind of goes away. And again, it's, I need, this kind of comes back to Stopping at Simone and the Roses. I'll see somebody post that my song got posted on like Diplo's Revolution. And there was a moment like two years ago where I was jumping up and down on the couch because of that and now because it's happened, I'm very grateful and I'm thankful for it, but it's just it's not the same, right? So it's like I'm always trying to catch like those first. And I think as artists, we kind of get caught up in that. And so trying to make sure I revert back to some of those fundamentals, Just networking and putting myself out there. even if I have met this person already, making sure that I'm really establishing good quality relationships and going out of my way to make new relationships. You can't stop doing that. once you stop doing that, you kind of do start to make yourself irrelevant. And in this game, it really is all about the look, who's talking about you. and the best way to do that is just be the popular kid at school, right? Go. Talk and be in as many circles as possible So networking is something that I feel like I've kind of taken for granted a little bit whereas like now more than ever. I Have the opportunity to network with some crazy people to DM some crazy people that I didn't before so I need to take more advantage Of that so that's something that I kind of have struggled with and I need to make sure that I stands out

Nik: 42:02

And I totally get how, the things that used to be super exciting, just they become normal and they don't have that

Jake Shore: 42:08

it's like weird.

Nik: 42:09

know, uh, allure. and one, thing I will say about that actually, on the, another sort of a pillar right next to gratitude as a practice, as an intentional practice is also celebration. My audience has heard me talk about this a thousand fucking times, but it's like even that thing. And it's like, Oh cool. I got, On Diplo's radio show for the 10th time. It's like, whatever, but actually did it really actually intentionally celebrate it and be like, no, you know what, I'm going to go get on the couch and jump up and down and fucking celebrate this. and I noticed that for myself recently, I had like a payment that came through from somebody from. Something I'd set up and it was like it was for an amount that like wasn't game changing for me And I was like, eh, whatever but I was like, no, no, wait a minute Like I get to celebrate that somebody just sent me money for so it was like literally just Like a commission on something that was super easy and I was like, no, I gotta catch myself and celebrate the fuck out of that because whatever I celebrate is gonna grow You

Jake Shore: 43:02

That's a good point. I

Nik: 43:02

i'm big on that

Jake Shore: 43:04

that reminds me another example of that too. Really quick is, so selfless plug. I just released a new song today called nasty and I got a message from my team saying that it got automatic already put on. all new dance on Spotify, like the playlist, which is a pretty big playlist. This is like the third time in a row now that it's gotten put on that playlist, which is great. First time, I was like, sick, right? Like, whatever. Now, third time, a little bit more desensitized to it. But, I'mma celebrate that. So, cheers to that. Yeah, uh,

Nik: 43:30

we're going to set. We're going to celebrate that. right now on the count of three. All right, one, two, three. Let's fucking go, baby, Yeah, baby.

Jake Shore: 43:39

All new dance, first day, out the gates, there we go. Yeah, no, that's true, and like, it's a good reminder.

Nik: 43:45

that's how we do it, man.

Jake Shore: 43:46

That's why we have these calls, baby.

Nik: 43:48

Now, I want to ask as some of these things have maybe lost a little bit of the excitement because they're not new. What is exciting right now? What would be exciting for you that would get you like that same feeling of holy shit. I can't believe this is happening.

Jake Shore: 44:02

Yeah, I have a lot of cool collabs in the works. I can't really name names, but I have a lot of cool collabs in the works. Again, like really leaning back into the opportunities of my network and realizing that yo, some of these guys are just a stone's throw away. Like, some of these people are just a message away. And because I'm making so much music now, and every day is a new idea, and I've detached from, I have to finish, and it's gotta be polished, and it's like, no man, just make the idea, get it started. A lot of these won't even ever come out, see the light of day, but for the one that does, it could be that collab, or it could be that. So a lot of cool collabs on the horizon. I feel like the sound is getting, faster. And I'm starting to morph into what 2025 Jake Shore is going to look like, still 90s, but almost into that like early Y2K vibes where it's like I said, the music's a little faster, a little bit more Euro dance, hard house, a lot of exciting stuff in that area. So I'm super stoked for that. A lot of personal milestones, for me and my girlfriend and, you know, just, uh, you know, what's to come there? Made some pretty big purchases recently.

Nik: 45:02

Uh, Hey, let's go.

Jake Shore: 45:04

it's got a nice ring to it. I tell you. We got a lot of cool things coming for 2025. So I'm excited for the music, really, though, man, I'm gonna I want to shine on the music and just how hard I've been really focusing on that. And I know that It's going to 10x everything that I want, it's going to 10x because if you look at anybody who's really captured the dream, the worldwide like awareness and fan base and the huge shows and everything that I want, right? Everything that I've been working for, working towards, what do they all have in common? They all have that one, two, three massive hit record. That's still what is changing the game. That's still what is, that hasn't changed. but if you look back and you dive deep into really what got them there. James Height posts about it all the time. John Summit posts about it all the time. Ed Sheeran has posted about it several times. You have to sit down every single day and write. And you have to write and write and write and understand that not every song and not every idea is gonna be good. It's gonna be a hundred shit ideas until that one. And, specifically for John Summit, I remember I just watched a video about He sent defected 60, 70 records. Until they finally responded, and the one they responded was Deep End. And the rest is history. That song changed his life. and it's just like anything else. And I think I've done it with content. And I didn't even realize. I made so much content. Day in and day out. Eventually something hit. And it spurred XYZ and blah blah. So that's where my mindset's at right now, is the music is coming first. It's every day, it's a non negotiable, it's every day. the fitness, I've just picked up a life and fitness coach over the past two months, and I'm in a cutting phase right now. Bro, I'm trying to be like a WWE superstar looking like jacked out of my mind, freaked out people on stage, but it's all part of the branding. It's all part of the vision of what's to come with the music. So yeah, man, there's a lot of exciting changes. I think I'm going through a big identity change. I think that's what it all comes down to going from the guy that like, oh man, you make dope content and your music school to do it. You're one of the best artists your music's the best in the world. You look cool. Like you are the most disciplined person in the world and your energy is still there. You know what I mean? I think I have the energy already. So yeah, man, there's just a lot of cool things going on with me personally. I think I feel like talking about challenges. I picked up some new challenges with my fitness and now with the music and just that's, what's keeping me motivated. I think that's important for anybody who has accomplished things in their life and maybe, the dreams that they had two or three years ago, they have accomplished. You got to set new ones. You've got to set new goals, but that also means you've got to change your identity again. You've got to change, you're not that person anymore because you've already done that. So now it's about what are the things that are going to get you to be that new vision. and that's where I'm at, and I'm doing them,

Nik: 48:09

Yeah, bro. I love to hear that. I especially as a coach, I love to hear that. you're working with a coach, both on the life and fitness side. If you want to have something you've never had before, you've got to be somebody that you've never been,

Jake Shore: 48:21

yeah, yeah, and you have to eliminate so much stuff too. That's the, that's the real key is detach and eliminate 80 percent of anything that's not getting you to that 10x goal Could be alcohol, could be a significant other, could be, where you live, it could be the job you have, which are very, very difficult things to give up. But it's when you give those things up, and you focus in on the 20 percent that's going to get you to where you want to go, that's when shit happens.

Nik: 48:50

You mentioned that earlier. There's a great example of that, that's what I would call You know, you got to separate to elevate. You got to separate yourself from those things. And you mentioned about how, when you were just like a local DJ in your early twenties, and you were stuck in the local scene playing for the local promoters, getting caught up in the partying and a little bit of the toxicity, you made that decision. You said you even took a year off and just made that decision of like, Is this the world I want to be a part of? Or do I want to be a headliner? Do I want to be a global touring artist and DJ? And I think that that really is the gut check moment that a lot of people need to ask themselves, right? Cause a lot of people are, they're chasing the local scene. They're chasing the local party or they're in it and they're caught up in it. And again, If that's your goal and you're happy staying there, okay, cool. But also, if you really, really want to be on that international, global level, there's a completely different mindset and a completely different lifestyle that you gotta get real about,

Jake Shore: 49:47

Yeah. And it's not easy, because I think people have a hard time saying no. I know I have had a hard time saying no in my life. and people get really caught up on just the shininess of new opportunities, but it might not always be the right opportunity. And it also, again, it goes back to the 10 X mindset where taking more shows in your local scene because you feel like, Oh, I'm going to be doing more shows. You're just doing more of what you're already doing versus actually taking less shows in your local scene. Building up the demand where it's like you can only see me once a month. You better come versus why would they come see you this weekend when they could just go see you for free next weekend? you're oversaturating and you're just doing more of what you're already doing. That was a big crux in my, like from local to national jump, right? And immediately people are going to be like, well, that means less money. Yeah, it does. You're going to have to take a pay cut And you're gonna have to figure it out. But you know what? Those one or two gigs you do in that scene a month are going to be way more meaningful. You're going to bring out way more people and you're going to be able to dial it into the way you want it to versus just taking, any gig that you can and you're going to start to separate yourself from the people that aren't doing it that way. And, but like now take what I just said. Now I'm doing that. Yeah. But in a different section of my life, basically, you know, so

Nik: 51:10

man. Amazing, bro. This last hour has just been so jam packed with so much just great, insight and wisdom and strategy and, I'm really, really glad that you reached out and that we could make this happen, cause this was just fuckin really, really great stuff and honestly, man, I think you're just, you're one hit away, bro. you're

Jake Shore: 51:30

That's what we say. Yeah. That's what

Nik: 51:32

up. And I see that though. Like I see that a hundred percent it's happening. Like it's inevitable. It is a inevitable consequence of putting in the reps and putting in the work. It's just a matter of time. And I totally see that. for you.

Jake Shore: 51:45

I liked that. too.

Nik: 51:47

to see that, man. Yeah.

Jake Shore: 51:48

That's, that might be the new moniker, man. One hit away. Because I feel like that is the mindset I have right now, but again, you can, like we've been doing, you can apply that to anything in your life, right? You're just one opportunity away, you're just one video away, you're one hit away. From having everything you're one dm away one podcast away. Everything you just said Mutual as well, bro. I can feel the energy and the high level of Discipline and mindfulness that spewing through the screen right now Mad respect great conversation and dude, let's stay in contact and would love to continue this this friendship so that we can we can both level up

Nik: 52:27

A hundred percent, bro. Count me in, man. Thanks

Jake Shore: 52:29

bro. Sounds good, man. Have a good rest of your day and enjoy your weekend.