Time Is Borrowed | Leroy Kincaide

0:00Alex Chisnall:What stops founders from building something meaningful isn't the lack of ideas, it's the fear of getting started. I'm Alex Chisnall and this is Screw It Just Do It, a podcast for people who are ready to stop waiting, take action and make things happen. But there was that little voice just in there going, you know you're going to be more behind the camera than in front of it. I look at it like we all have a calling innately in us all. Everybody's called. Very few answer the phone when they're called, right? And is that for a new project that you've got? We did the first film, literally, again, screw it, just do it moment.

0:39We was like, well, if nobody's going to believe in our idea, then we've got to believe in it. There's always more. For me, it's making sure that I'm happy and not content. Because content is a place where you don't strive for anything else, but what you got.

0:57Alex Chisnall:Before we get into today's conversation, this is genuinely relevant for a lot of founders listening. Are you running a business that pays suppliers abroad, receives international payments, or operates across borders? World First helps founders manage global payments and FX more efficiently with access to competitive exchange rates and tools designed specifically for growing businesses. World First have given us an exclusive offer for podcast listeners to get 50 transactions completely fee-free for 60 days. Head to worldfirst.com forward slash screw it to create a free account and claim now. Now let's jump into the main conversation.

1:34I believe I was chosen weirdly to write. I couldn't really articulate any different than that for that. because, you know, in school I was in special needs, right? And I was in special needs specifically for English. So I was in a separate class away from all the other kids in English, specifically English. And why this is really, really, really important to me is because I believe very much like in a message. And that can be a spiritual message. it could be a God message, however people want to interpret it. I look at it like we all have a calling innately in us all, right? Everybody is called.

2:21You know, some people say some people are called. No, everybody's called. Very few answer the phone when they're called, right? Now, you have to be aware at the time to accept what is going to be yours. So this is where my writing stuff comes from, right? so I went through school terrible at English terrible at reading I'm not even good now at reading aloud but I can read but I have to I have to take it at my pace so it's the way I would learn right but for some weird reason back in 2010 2010 2011 I started having a drive to want to write and I couldn't tell you why. It's literally like, oh, I'm going to write a story today.

3:09It was literally sort of like that and I was like, oh. And I found what it did is it ignited part of the side of my nature that was a light when I was a kid.

3:19Alex Chisnall:Yes, okay. And it reminded me of it. And I was like, let me explore this. And I kept writing and kept writing and kept writing and I literally had, it wasn't an obsession, it was an addiction. Like it was an absolute addiction to finding words on a page and just keep going. And it's so 180 to who I was from years previous, right? Yeah. Now, obviously, the first few things you write are not good. You know, skills and that need to be built in. So you start developing beyond that. But long story short, basically, as I went on, I just realized that like, isn't it weird how the weakest of your abilities, can ultimately become your strongest of your abilities should you allow yourself the room to accept it.

4:11Part of my thing was I was trying to run away from that, weirdly, because I was like...

4:18Alex Chisnall:That's not me. I'm like, you know, I'm the wrestler. I get in there. Do you know what? Oh, I want to do a bit of acting. I do a bit of that. I want to be on the screen. That's my thing. like I can write this bit because I write to do that because I want to be in it and that's basically what it was doing it was ego fueling the passion but there was that little voice just in there going you do know you're going to be more behind the camera than in front of it and it was there the whole fucking way through this journey man what was that dude and it's like we all have this little inner voice and we all try and shut it out but no matter how much you try and stop listening it just gets louder and louder and louder.

5:03And to the point of where if you ignore it long enough, this voice changes from a voice of encouragement to one that starts giving you fuel energy of regret because now the time is gone, but the voice is, this is what you could have been. And I very much believe we have to listen to that inner voice because it knows. I met this guy at the gym, right? I think I was like 20 I was still wrestling I was about 24 25 he was a life coach guy I've had random people throughout my life that have planted a few seeds and like they're here for a moment then gone the next and I remember this guy he was telling me about like when you're trying to go for something what are you doing to take action towards that goal you know I was like well you know I'm doing this I've got this planned he's like no but what are you doing Like, what are you doing daily?

6:01If you set yourself up to do one task a day towards your goal, towards your ambition, towards your drive, whatever you're doing, one thing a day and stick to it, keep going. Before you know it, it'll just be all you're doing. And I remember when he told me that, I was like, fucking hell, that's a lot. And I remember playing this weird mind game with myself in the moment of him telling me, this is what you need to do. But I wasn't sure how to, I guess, interpret what he was trying to say, even though it's really basic what he was saying, just do something every day. But believe it or not, that can become quite difficult if you're not willing to accept you've got to let go of a lot of the carnality and a lot of the BS that the world paints for you.

6:48Because you've now got to accept the fact you are the person you are now as a result of the actions you've taken. which also means good and bad so if there's things you don't have that you want and you need to get them well then therefore there's something you've not done at this point in time but the good thing with a level of awareness and what it does to you is it gives you the perspective to go ah i'm aware that i'm in the prison so i can free myself from it in all of our lives a person or persons that ground us right they're the one that would support you no matter what they're always there be it your mum, your dad, grandparents or whatever.

7:27I was just more closer to my grandparents. You know, I lost my granddad some years ago, about 20 plus years ago. But a few months ago on the 1st of August, I woke up and found my nan. And that was, for me, she was probably, she was like the, you know, like you have the tree for Christmas and you have the little angel at the top of it. Bam, it's like the centerpiece of the tree. She was sort of that in my life, you know, but in a way where it was like we had just had this like connection that just grounded me really, really solely to stuff. The problem sometimes with, you know, I'm really glad we're here so far from the first, I say so far from the first of August, because I'd been here a few months ago, I've probably been in a state of tears.

8:19but from what I lost and what I realized in the loss was the truth of one unconditional love like you never really know how much you love someone until they're not here and you appreciate different things but you also never know the blessing and the curse in the loss it's a it's a juxtaposition between light and dark you will come out of the the flames like a phoenix from the ashes but you need to be broken and burnt first this weirdly is part of my next my next stage in the journey of my life is that like my spiritual we i believe we've all got spiritual ties on this earth there could be one or two people but usually there's a one person when they go you there's it's a it's a death that you can't experience again because it's you've only usually got one of these i believe you can be connected to loads of people but there'll be one if you had a choice you could lose that person and get everything you want that you would never be able to make this choice so therefore the choice is made for you yeah and And when it is, you have to learn, one, a new way to love, but you have to also learn a new way of navigating your life now.

9:48Because now that safety of that person being there, that person that would, regardless of how good it was, regardless of how bad it was, would always give you that support. Now they're somewhere else. this spiritual death weirdly has allowed me um a lot more room to be free in in a way that i didn't it took it took a couple of months i mean you know i heal very fast in different ways still tons of pain there but the thing is is that anybody that loves you would always want the best for you yeah so you should always keep that in mind regardless of whatever you're doing so my thing was like okay what would be the best that she would want she'd want me to blow the fucking doors off yeah like that would be it yeah that's exactly what she would want so in honor of everything i do moving forwards there's a sense of urgency now there's a sense of like not giving a fuck anymore now there's like you know that you know like when people say it's like a there's like a part of their mind they wish they could turn off when they care so much about what other people think.

11:04Weirdly, this was the thought, I mean, I was pretty much like this anyway, but her loss, sorry, her leaving my life, me now having to reflect on the beauty of things that we've done before, really has given me, well, the only way is up now. So I just don't.

11:27Alex Chisnall:No consequences. Yeah. With love and respect, not infringing on the rights and... Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Or anything of anyone else on the journey up. Yeah. But yeah, it's been a very interesting few months and it was one of the hardest, if not the hardest day of my life. So that was a pitch I had to do the very day I found her. Was there? Yeah, that was... And who was that pitch to then? So we, over the last couple of years, Whereas where we're stepping into the business side of the film industry, you know, you realize that there's the passion side of it, where you want to tell the story and be passionate about it.

12:08But then you've got the business side. And the business side has to come before the passion because the business is what fuels the passion. So we've been going through like a few programs. We've gone through Creative England. They have like an Evolve program where they basically get companies ready for financial investment.

12:30Alex Chisnall:Yep. So we went on this whole course all in the last year, got for the end of the course, finished it early this year, gone through a few angel investor groups and we had our first official proper pitch to investors. Got it. On the 1st of August. Wow. At 12 p.m. I had the pitch. At 8.15 a.m. I found my name. and it was like what do you do it's not what do you do it was like I didn't to be fair I didn't know what was right but all I knew was like the thing that I had that got me through it was in my head I knew if it was a choice of my nan telling me what to do or what not to do she'd want me to do it and also do you think this is just another hurdle that's been put in front of me that I need to get through i mean like it's a weird dichotomy between the passion that you have for something and how much you really want something i tell you a physical injury is nothing like losing that person in your life it's nothing like when you know i tore my my bicep a couple years ago um doing doing some door work and randomly when um that injury was terrible it's hard it was recovery's a thing you've got to get over that but ultimately it's not the same the physical the mental pain that you go through when you lose that person you now have to test yourself and i remember thinking to myself well this is going to be the test of tesla right you're gonna sink or you're gonna swim which is it like and i remember thinking this to myself because i almost didn't tell my partner when we was about to have the pitch i almost didn't say and you're pitching together we were pitching together okay because i was like what i didn't want is i didn't want the oh i'm really sorry all of this other stuff that goes with that because i knew that that would i had to really almost mentally block it out for about four or five hours.

14:50About four hours before, obviously we had the pitch, done the pitch. Had a successful pitch, which was really... That was going to be my next question. Which is really like, it really fucking, like this day really fucking sucked because it was like, we needed people to believe in us. We needed someone to believe in us, like whatever. We're complete strangers, talking across a Zoom call, for investment into what we're about to do. People don't know us from Adam, but they've been entrusted enough that they're going to be put in front of people that potentially have some opportunity for them to want to invest.

15:31So this is the first point we've ever had this. And this is the first time we've done a proper pitch like that outside of any group, we're outside the Creative England thing. And here we are just after the call, just after the pitch you know we get an email from one of the guys said a really successful pitch one of the guys would like to invest we're still on our on our round raising for funds but the fact is the very first investor in my life yeah ever yeah came on the day that i lost my name

16:07Alex Chisnall:if this conversation resonated with you don't just sit there act on it make sure you follow or subscribe for more game-changing conversations. And remember, the only thing standing between you and your business breakthrough is the decision to screw it and just do it.