Ken "Dr. Smiley" Rochon, Jr., PhD
I believe one of the most important things you can do to claim your legacy is to live your life like it is a movie waiting to inspire others
I am an Army brat who was bullied and felt different amongst the civilian world. Later I learned that my bullying experience gave me the gift of understanding what it is to be ridiculed and hated. I learned empathy. Now, I help the underdog. The person beaten down and hopeless by providing a hand up, support, a smile and most of all, my time
I lost my Mom to Alzheimer’s disease in 2008. I was her caregiver during her final three years. I helplessly watched my vibrant and humanity loving Mom leave this life without anyone really knowing her legacy. I committed to God and my Mom that I would live a ‘Purpose Driven Life’ and write my first book Losing her was my biggest awakening to the realization that ‘Life is Precious’.
I turned my life over to God and made my life a tribute to my Mom. I got to work on what I believed would be necessary actions to succeed at this ‘Purpose Driven Life’ and how to make a difference in the world
My first step was to surround myself with authors to understand their secret for creating legacy. The advice I received was to just write. Could it be this simple? For the most part, it was and my book was out the following Christmas. Underwhelmed by the sales of roughly 11 books, I soon realized that the thousands of people who indicated interest in purchasing my book was just a misunderstanding
I invested over $20K in publishing based on the interest level alone and then thought the resulting financial disaster was the worst joke God could play on me. This was my first attempt at having a ‘Purpose Driven Life’ and I was quite sure I was failing It took digging myself out of this financial failure to realize that this experience was necessary in order to understand how many authors feel after the release of their ‘magnificent manifesto’. The bigger lesson was that getting a book done is one thing, having it impact the world is quite another.
I combined my natural love of art, events, marketing, and people to create legacy It
was clear to me that marketing events on the new frontier of social media was a game changer for branding and promoting goodness I purchased professional camera equipment, then began to go to conferences attended by influencers and leaders. My business page, ‘The Umbrella Syndicate’, received tens of thousands of visits a week. Soon, I was invited to cover events honoring organizations that were advocating for change, funding, and relief.
The Umbrella Syndicate was initially misunderstood as solely a photography company, but through a lot of in-kind sponsorships, we became known as a marketing, media, and promotion company. Soon several other photographers joined the team.
‘The Umbrella Syndicate’ logo is the top of an umbrella Each of the 6 triangles represents a passion of mine and each has a business brand associated:
Branding, Entertainment, Photography, Promotion, Production, and Publishing.
From the passing of my Mom in 2008 until March 2015, it was business as usual with the pursuit of a ‘Purpose Driven Life’ I cowrote a book, ‘Umbrella Marketing… Amplify Your Message’, which helped share the blueprint for creating viral marketing campaigns.
I used my cameras to capture the smiles of heart-centered leaders. After accumulating thousands of photos, I decided to publish my first ‘KEEP SMILING Shift Happens’ book. Today, there are over 200 KEEP SMILING books ranging in themes from Bald Beautiful and Bold to city themes based upon the leaders I meet
In 2020, the isolation caused by the pandemic triggered my son Kenny to write his first children’s book As of 2022, he is now at his tenth, “Kenny’s Favorite Things to be Grateful for”. I followed suit and wrote ‘GRATITUDE’ by Dr. Smiley (my 40th Book). My pen name came from obtaining my doctorate in Entreprenology in 2021 combined with my studying the impact of smiles eventually coming up with the formula ‘SPH’, SPH = Smiles per hour. I intended to present a TED talk entitled, ‘What is Your SPH?’.
Despite all the good that was occurring in my life, the pandemic destroyed my income and depleted my savings This culminated with the ultimate gift of clarity an eviction notice On December 4, 2020, after renting from the same landlord for almost forty years, I lost everything From the ashes, the D O S E of HOPE book project was born. I gathered all my amazing heart-centered authors and leaders, then asked them to write how they created who they were, their purpose, and the impact it created. Since its initiation, the D.O.S.E of HOPE book series has reached a distribution of approximately 20 million downloads.
(www.theKEEPSMILINGmovement.com)
In March 2015, I met the Ambassador of Joy, Barry Shore He handed me a ‘KEEP SMILING’ card It was as if the light of the card and the moment shined to say, “Here is the Light you have been waiting for… here is access to your Purpose Driven Life! Capture smiles!”
Little did I know that doing all these projects would lead to an opportunity some six years later While photographing, speaking, and sponsoring at the Ultimate Speaker Competition, I met Dr Michelle Mras She has been instrumental in creating a powerful
Perfect Publishing team and, as of Dec 2022, a new co-owner. My partner of twelve years, Al Granger, is also excited about the new direction and the increased volume of talented clients willing to make a positive difference in the world
The biggest secret I can share is the formula for successful publishing. You need to understand that the book content is not the only variable. The difference maker is the distribution. Distribution is roughly 100 times as powerful. Treat your book like your baby, and it will receive the attention, nurturing, and longevity of promotion it needs This philosophy applies to anything you care for including goals. Whatever it is, care for it like a newborn. Help it grow into a self-sustaining entity. Then, watch your legacy flourish.
Today, Perfect Publishing includes some of the brightest minds and talents seeking to change the game of abundance, through book tours that span the world and social proof campaigns that predicate tipping points of epic proportions Together, we help birth new ideas into the world through books. We recognize the accomplishment, help nourish them, and establish the repeatability of social media campaigns. (www.PerfectPublishing.com)
Produced by Higher Calling Consulting
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