“I want other people to feel liberated in their truth and walk in their power just like I have.”

In this episode, Nick speaks with Rich Vysion, a recording artist who recently came out as an LGBT rapper. They discuss Rich’s journey of self-discovery, the challenges of coming out, and the importance of community and support. Rich shares how music has been a healing outlet for him, especially in relation to his mental health and trauma. The conversation emphasizes the power of vulnerability, the significance of rewriting one’s story, and the importance of self-acceptance and empowerment.

What to listen for:

• Community support plays a crucial role in navigating personal struggles and identity.
• Music serves as a powerful tool for healing and self-expression.
• Trauma can lead to self-discovery and a deeper understanding of oneself.
• Vulnerability in art can inspire others to embrace their own truths.
• It’s important to challenge societal norms and expectations regarding identity.
• Rewriting one’s story is a powerful act of self-empowerment.
• Mental health struggles are common, and seeking help is a sign of strength.
• Everyone has the ability to create their own narrative and define their worth.

“I realized that fear of failure, fear of success, and fear of everything was keeping me from pursuing anything fully.”

• Recognizing how fear affects us can be the key to breaking free from its grip.
• It’s not just the fear of failing that holds us back—sometimes, succeeding can feel equally intimidating.
• When fear dominates, it can prevent any meaningful action or progress.
• Identifying these fears allows for reflection and the potential to change mindset.
• Understanding these fears is often the gateway to pursuing passions and goals without restraint.

“I internalized the negative comments about my music and didn’t have the mental capacity at the time to discern that it was probably a projection.”

• Sometimes, criticism from others reveals more about them than it does about us.
• It takes time and mental resilience to separate constructive feedback from unhelpful projections.
• Internalizing criticism can be mentally exhausting and stifles creative expression.
• Recognize what feedback is truly valuable versus what is someone else’s baggage.

“It’s a conscious decision to share vulnerability and transparency to help others realize they’re not the only ones struggling.”

• Vulnerability isn’t always instinctive; it can be a deliberate choice to support others.
• Being open and honest can create a sense of connection and community.
• Sharing struggles often requires more courage than keeping them hidden.
• When people see others sharing their challenges, it can ease their own feelings of isolation.
• Vulnerability invites others to feel safe in expressing their own struggles and emotions.

About Rich Vysion

Rich Vysion, the conscious rap luminary born in the Bronx and now flourishing in Brooklyn, unveils his latest chapter as a published author, a testament to his unwavering triumph against all odds: How a braggadocious rapper overcame mental health struggles and along the way, created a platform that bridges the gap between music and mental health.

His tracks are cinematically musical—often crafted from orchestral pieces, haunting piano motifs, and ominously entrancing basslines. His thought-provoking artistry has garnered favorable comparisons to Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Common.

• www.richvysion.com
• www.instagram.com/richvysion

Resources:

Interested in starting your own podcast or need help with one you already have? Send Nick an email or schedule a time to discuss your podcast today!

[email protected]

Thank you for listening!

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Your Friends at “The Mindset & Self-Mastery Show”

Nick McGowan (00:01.359)
Hello and welcome to The Mindset and Self Mastery Show. I’m your host, Nick McGowan. Today on the show I have Rich Vision. Rich, how you doing, man?

Rich Vysion (00:12.504)
Good, thank you for having me. How are you?

Nick McGowan (00:14.019)
I’m good, yeah, I’m glad that you’re here. I’m stoked for us to be able to talk about trauma, writing, but also mainly music. There’s something, again, mentioned even before we hit record, there’s just a lot when it comes to music that is sometimes really difficult to be able to put into words. And I also know as a musician that it was harder for me to put things into words as a kid, but I could express myself through music and to be able to tie that together with mental health and trauma and all of that.

And it’s just such a beautiful thing that you’re doing. So why don’t you get us started to tell us what you do for a living and what’s one thing most people don’t know about you that’s maybe a little odd or bizarre.

Rich Vysion (00:53.132)
Yes, so I am a recording artist. Also, I’m the website maintenance for my family business. My father is the owner of the company. We sell Western Run equipment parts for the stove. And as far as awkward, I wouldn’t say awkward, but I just came out today as a LGBT rapper. So a lot of people don’t know about me yet.

So that’s something that is vulnerable and something that I am, you know, was anxious to share because I’ve been sitting on it for so long, but I feel liberated.

Nick McGowan (01:35.758)
That’s kind of timely and huge. Like congrats for stepping out, stepping into that. I mean, that’s huge. And especially today, like, I guess right before even the podcast. So why don’t we get into that a little bit because there’s, that might be where most of this podcast episode goes. That’s a big thing. That’s a big decision to make. like, talk to us about that.

Rich Vysion (01:38.924)
Yeah, thank you.

Rich Vysion (02:00.33)
Yeah, it was something that I’ve been struggling with behind the scenes for a while. And the thing about it was the reason why I came out yesterday rather than waiting, because to be honest, I wanted to wait until next year to share it amongst people on social media. And I was challenged by my life coach to do something that was

on board or made me stand out. So I’m like, what can I do to make me stand out? Obviously to me, like I’m a performer, so I can’t just be like, you know, perform somewhere because that’s my nature as a performer. I love performing, so that’s easy. So I’m thinking like, what could I do to make me stand out today? I’m like, okay, I’m like, let’s share something that’s vulnerable. I didn’t honestly think I was going to actually do a video about it. I thought I was just going to do like

oppose a little more safer and then call it a day. But I decided to go against that psychology, so to speak. And I said, let me actually be honest and real and let me share this about me that no one knows because I feel like not only will set me free, it will also set other people free who are also struggling, you know, in their sexuality because a lot of people

feel like, you know, they will get judged or it’s found upon upon certain people. So it’s not easy to just be like, Hey, this is what it is. And what I’m getting judged, especially on the internet. so I said, Hey, let me do this for me. Not really chasing after anybody else’s validation because I needed it to set me free. Cause I was even speaking to it, speaking about it to my therapist. like, I’m struggling with this. I’m like,

I don’t know how to go about even telling people. I told him like two people and even that was hard. And just being able to just kind of shout it out to the rooftops is, I don’t know, it made me feel good. Like I did something worth, know, about and sharing because at the end of the day, it’s like, want other people to feel liberated in their truth and work in their power, just like I have.

Nick McGowan (04:22.785)
Yeah, it’s gotta be tough to get to that point. It’s gotta be really tough to get to that point and to feel like you can’t be yourself because of systems, because of different situations or shit, because of how somebody else fucking feels about their own life. That in and of itself sucks, you know, where you’re being held back. And I’m so excited that you feel comfortable to be able to talk about that.

Then you’ve taken that step to actually be able to not not just have the conversation but start to really converse about it. Like even here, you could have held this. You could have. People are going to listen to this. There are thousands of people that listen to this podcast. There are people that are going to know about this and the fact that you’ve done that and you’ve said that and that you are willing to be able to be vulnerable, be uncomfortable. But most importantly, man, fucking being yourself. That’s huge.

I appreciate you sharing that stuff and and and actually actually stepping out to say those things, because there’s so many pieces to it. I’m kind of wondering where do we even start with that? Because when you think of all the stuff that leads up to those really tough decisions to be able to step out and say those things, feel those things, be as authentically you as possible. It can be really difficult for people. So why don’t you share a bit more about that story and like

Rich Vysion (05:23.383)
Cool.

Nick McGowan (05:49.867)
what got you to this point to feel comfortable to be able to talk.

Rich Vysion (05:54.926)
Yeah, that’s a great question. I think for me, gave me comfort was knowing that I have friends and I also have family who are also struggling with their sexuality as well. for them also being out is like, although it was hard at the moment, I feel like

they’re embracing it unapologetically. And it’s like, wow, like, I’m like, wow, like my friend, I didn’t even know because I read her book and I’m like, wow, I know she was queer. And it’s like, had one on one conversation with her and it was like, she reminded me like, hey, like you do it on your time. Like, don’t worry about everybody else’s timing. And at the end of the day, I had to sit back. like, yeah, I don’t have to really rush in and you know.

shared that, especially if I wasn’t ready at the moment and I wasn’t, because I was still processing all those thoughts of like, like, what people are going to say, this person might call me, like, you know, say some kind of slur and, you know, that will demean me and, you know, and then my integrity. I said, you know, I came to a point where I’m just like,

have to do this for me. I even spoke to my therapist about it, because she was telling me, let’s baby step it. And I was baby stepping it. I was just journaling about it. Even writing about it was hard. I wrote 30 songs about this whole topic of sexuality and how I feel. it helped me really realize that, wait a minute.

There’s some layers about me that I’m still holding onto that I felt like I wasn’t being 100 % me. At the end of the day, yeah, I was being real about my mental health struggles, and that’s always the case when I put out music. And then there’s still a part of me was like, wait a minute, there’s still more stuff that you have in the closet that you’re not saying. If you’re to be 100 % real, be 100 % real in all aspects.

Nick McGowan (07:55.849)
Hmm

Rich Vysion (08:18.804)
So for me, that helped me realize that, there’s so much more to be said in my music besides, you know, the mental health piece, which is obviously is very important to me because I struggled with suicide ideation. And also knowing that now I’m stepping into my sexuality, I also realized that, you know, it’s also a part of me that that gets to be heard and that

Nick McGowan (08:46.411)
Mm-hmm.

Rich Vysion (08:47.618)
people need to see other people stepping out because it helps them step out into their own, you know, in their own journeys of like, hey, maybe there’s something that I’m holding back that I want to share and I want to feel liberated. I want to feel confident in myself. And I know it’s not always easy, it helped knowing that there was other people around that already have done it so boldly and unapologetically, which makes me feel comfortable to say, hey, wait a minute, like,

I was in a community that was LGBT without even thinking of it. And my therapist reminded me like, hey, did you know like you were just in a community that, you know, subconsciously you just went in and maybe it was something to it alluding to maybe, but I don’t know. But I know I just need the support. She was like, wait a minute, that was something there. Like you were comfortable to go into a community.

Nick McGowan (09:43.819)
Hmm.

Rich Vysion (09:44.654)
that you didn’t see yourself in because I was like on the outside looking in like, I’m not, cause I was putting straight on the actual, you know, sign in form and they were, wait a minute, this is LGBT, how can you be? So I got to kind of like a lot of questioning about that too. But at end of the day, I also feel like that helped me realize, wait a minute, I’m not, I’m not being true to who I am.

Nick McGowan (10:11.721)
Yeah, well you’d also mentioned about social media or just on the internet. Being able to talk about things and being who you are and how people could say things, can do whatever. You know, it can be really easy for people hiding behind some sort of device or screen to talk a lot of shit. yeah, trolls are gonna be trolls, but for the most part, these people aren’t, they’re not really trolls. They’re humans that are hurting and they’re unsure about themselves. They’re going through their own shit.

Rich Vysion (10:40.524)
Mm-hmm.

Nick McGowan (10:41.641)
and they’ll throw stuff at you because they feel like it might make them feel better or they don’t have to worry about something or they can shit at somebody else and not have anybody look at their own stuff. And it’s hard to not feel for them in that, you know? But for you to be able to say, well, even if that’s a thing, somebody could say anything they want.

And that could be really hurtful. It could be really painful to read or listen to or whatever. But for you to be able to step out and say, this is what feels right to me, you’re totally right. I believe you 100 % that other people can look at that and they can say, well, maybe that’s something I can do. Maybe it’s a conversation I can have. If we take a little bit of a step back and you think about the conversation you had with a friend, the conversation you’ve had with your therapist, conversations you’ve had with yourself.

other people are going through those things. And it’s a little crazy at times how we can think as people like, I’m all by myself. You don’t get what I’m going through. You don’t know what I’ve done or what has happened to me. And we’re never actually alone. There’s always somebody out there or a group of people or a handful of people at least that have gone through some similar things. And sometimes it just takes us stepping out or raising our hand to be able to actually show like I too.

Rich Vysion (11:34.51)
Mmm.

Rich Vysion (11:43.192)
Right.

Rich Vysion (11:50.498)
Bye.

Nick McGowan (12:04.105)
could really use some help. Then you talked about community. You also talked about some family that are going through some of that. But then, again, if we look at overall systems of you can’t be who you are because the world tells you you can’t be, or because people will look at you differently. And I love that you’ve done that for you and for the other people that not only gonna listen to this podcast, but everybody else you talk to through the rest of your life.

Rich Vysion (12:19.916)
Mm.

Rich Vysion (12:26.092)
Thank you.

Nick McGowan (12:34.217)
that just you being you, that’s an important thing. So let’s talk about a bit of the mental health that goes along with that too, because that’s not an easy thing. It’s not like you’re like, you know what? Today I think I’m gonna wear a pair of the blue shoes instead of the red shoes. Wait a minute. It’s totally different than that. This is like, I’m going to tell people who I really am as opposed to yesterday when I was still shielding that from people or holding back from that and how that must have affected

Rich Vysion (12:36.554)
Mm.

Yeah.

Rich Vysion (12:47.662)
Mmm.

Hmm… Yeah.

Yeah.

Nick McGowan (13:03.417)
at least aspects of your mental well-being. So talk a bit about how not only you’ve managed through the mental health and you’ve used your music to be able to get your words out, but also how that all ties together with what and who you are out in the world today.

Rich Vysion (13:23.906)
Yes. well, so for me, when it comes to, you know, especially being out and also now, like I’m actually like, I will be putting out music about it in the future next year. I also realized that, you know,

It affects me mentally because like I kept internalizing what people would say. So because of that, I started to play, play some more in a sense of like, I didn’t want to like, you know, you know, share it in my music or even speak to my therapist about it at one point, because I’m just like, this is a little too heavy. Even yesterday when before I was even about to

do the video, had second, I had this thought in my head of maybe I shouldn’t do this. It’s not the right timing. And then I kept on thinking I wanna be committed to my commitments and I said I was gonna do this thing. And it was like a battle within, it was like a tug of war. like, I wanna say it, but then I don’t wanna say it,

I struggled with validation for several years, which is the reason why I wanted to give up on my music, because of the fact that a lot of people weren’t approving my music. So I fell into that validation paradox trap that kept me suicidal, kept me depressed. And I realized that I had to do a lot of inner work on myself to get to the point where I am now, where I feel confident in what I’m doing.

as far as my mental health advocacy with my music and through my, also through my book. I also realized that yesterday when I actually thought about not doing it, I said, wait a minute, like, if I don’t do this, I would never will. Because I kept on prolonging it for so long. And I’m thinking like, it’s time to be bold. And that’s my theme for next year is like,

Rich Vysion (15:41.07)
be bold. And I’m like, I’m not going to wait till next year to be bold. I’m going to be bold now. Like, why wait till 2025 January to do something that’s bold? And it’s like, and it’s crazy because fear has always been something that’s been, you know, I don’t say crippling, but you know, it’s been, you know, it’s been a word that has been in my psyche for so long. Fear of failure, of success and not really knowing, you know.

the directions to go with my life and just being scared of everything and not really pursuing nothing, just doing things haphazardly, I realized that, a minute, I have something to say that’s important that I feel like is gonna set me free because if not, I’m just gonna end up in a spiral, spiraling.

Nick McGowan (16:37.427)
Yeah.

Rich Vysion (16:40.332)
I woke up, even yesterday when I was actually saying it, I was like so nervous and anxious, but I’m like, wait a minute, like I’m doing it. And then like today.

had this whole different feeling. Like, yes, I did feel liberated, but then I felt like, damn, like, I can’t believe I just did that. And then, like, I woke up, like, anxious. I woke up crying today, because I’m like, my goodness, like, this is so… I think this is, really the most vulnerable I’ve been in a long time. And, you know, that was, you know, that was very, very scary for me.

So all that to say that I’m just stepping into it fully now and I’m grateful that I am stepping into it more fully. at the end of the day, I feel like it’s a conscious decision to be able to share that vulnerability and that transparency to make other people realize that they’re not the only ones who struggle with this.

and I want to be able to help other people navigate those, mental hurdles, especially when I’m thinking that I’m not enough to be an artist and also be out. Cause that was also a thing that I struggled with too, like, if I’m an artist and I’m out, like, you know, what narrative will people paint for me?

Nick McGowan (18:14.437)
Hmm.

Rich Vysion (18:15.606)
And would that affect me being able to perform my music? Or would it keep me stuck in a rut, so to speak, of not wanting to put myself out there to help other people with my music because I’m afraid that someone’s gonna be like, you’re out or stuff like that. You’re not supposed to be out. You’re supposed to be straight or X, Z. You know, just projecting their false narrative upon me and me actually believing that narrative.

Nick McGowan (18:43.033)
Yeah, it’s too easy at times to just let it absorb into you. know, people will push things upon you and certain people will say things with such conviction and such emphasis that it’s hard to not go, okay, well, yeah, you must be right. And I think about oftentimes us as being kids in our formative years, how we just learned things and we’re like, well, I guess this is what you do.

Like the things you learned from your parents, the things you learned from the community you’re in, how people operate, all of that. You don’t know. You’re sponging things up. But then those stories become something that shape you for fucking years and years. There are people that I could talk to in their 50s, 60s, 70s at times that are like, I just learned how to be myself because of all the stuff they’ve worked through. People in their teens or 20s or 30s that are working through things, they think even

Rich Vysion (19:33.186)
Hmm

Nick McGowan (19:40.707)
You can get into the topic of transgender and how kids want to be able to change and how some people are really anti that because of systems and ways that they look at things and the way that they’re unsure of how to handle a certain situation or what to do. But then there’s also the person. It’s just all about that person. Where do they feel they’re at? What do they feel is true to them? And who the fuck are you to tell them any different for real?

Rich Vysion (19:51.342)
Mm.

Rich Vysion (19:58.177)
Yes.

Rich Vysion (20:07.573)
huh.

Nick McGowan (20:08.025)
But sometimes it takes us a long time to be able to get to that point where we go, time out, fuck off. Here’s me, here’s really me. And a lot of times it can take us that time to be able to be ourselves, to actually be okay with ourselves, to then say, this is what feels right, natural for me. And I appreciate you being just open and vulnerable with all this stuff, especially even with getting up this morning and instantly feeling anxious and crying. Like, I can pretty much guarantee that you’re probably not the only person who’s ever done that.

Rich Vysion (20:13.581)
Yeah.

Hmm

Rich Vysion (20:22.113)
Hmm.

Nick McGowan (20:38.329)
who has said such a large, vulnerable thing that makes them feel liberated and fucking scared shitless at the same time, that then will wake up crying thinking, I did that, but I did that, but I did that, but I did that. Like all of that can be true simultaneously. It’s then what you do with it at that point. So from the music perspective of what you’re doing, honestly, man, I feel like it’s probably gonna open up so many additional doors for you.

Rich Vysion (20:50.22)
Yeah… Yeah…

Rich Vysion (20:58.861)
Yeah.

Nick McGowan (21:06.786)
because you will be able to feel into it. Plus, there’s so much bullshit when it comes to how things should be when it comes to, and let’s just live on the music and artist path for a second. There’s so many ways that they’re like, you have to do it this way because so-and-so got big doing it this way, and you have to be perceived this way. But I think some of the best things, even watching different artists as they go through the course of their transformation as a group or as a

Rich Vysion (21:17.806)
Mmm.

Rich Vysion (21:22.115)
does.

Rich Vysion (21:27.118)
Mmm.

Nick McGowan (21:36.771)
band or as a solo artist. Like it’s typically the third album where they start to figure the fuck out. Like third, fourth album. And I’ve seen different interviews at different bands and I’ve had conversations with people where they’re like, well, at one point I stopped giving a fuck or didn’t want to listen to the label anymore or said, well, this is what we feel is natural. And I love when you can hear that stuff. There’s a, there’s a band that I listened to called

Rich Vysion (21:43.816)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Rich Vysion (21:54.85)
Yes.

Nick McGowan (22:06.596)
Bring Me the Horizon. They were a hardcore band, like almost grind metal from the UK in the early 2000s. And they had a handful of albums and then you could start to see them shift. Even in one or two of their songs from like an album 2019 or 2020, there was a verse in it was like somebody in the front row was talking shit about us while they’re wearing a black Dahlia murder shirt saying we’re not heavy enough because now we’re poppy. And this album they just put out

Rich Vysion (22:35.159)
Mmm.

Nick McGowan (22:36.787)
is by far the best album they’ve ever put out. And you can tell they figured it out. They are them. And in interviews with them, because I could hear it and I could feel it, like it’s palpable with that. In interviews, they talk about how this is where we feel we are. This is them standing on their path. So for you to be able to be open and be you 100 % you, from an artist perspective, man, whole fucking world’s gonna open up at this point.

Rich Vysion (22:42.146)
Mmm.

Rich Vysion (22:49.462)
Mmm.

Rich Vysion (22:57.966)
Yeah.

Nick McGowan (23:05.036)
And if there are those fears and the times where like, yeah, well people could say things, people are going to say shit no matter what, because those people have their own fucking problems. But for you to be able to step out and do it, even the fact that you wrote your book and that you poured your heart and soul into each one of those poems, that’s a big thing that a lot of people only wish that they could do and would rather talk shit about than actually do the work to be able to do it. throughout the poetry and the things you talk about,

Rich Vysion (23:15.138)
That’s right.

Nick McGowan (23:33.805)
throughout your writing as an artist, talk a lot about trauma. talk a little bit about what trauma has led you to where you’re at, but also how you incorporate the lessons you’ve learned from trauma into the work that you do, and especially with who you are out in the world right now.

Rich Vysion (23:54.386)
That’s a great question because trauma, a lot of my trauma stemmed from this, be honest, stepping into the music industry. I, when I out my first EP, which was 2015, over 10 years ago, when I first started, I was just a rookie in the game and I didn’t really know that.

by me putting myself out on the internet that I was gonna get so much destructive criticism, if you will, about my music. cause I was just, I was just a beginner. I didn’t even know about what criticism is or what, you know, negative comments were. So I was just like taking it all in and I didn’t realize that

by looking at those negative comments about my music, I didn’t know it would do something to my psyche. I also didn’t know that I was gonna internalize a lot of the stuff that people were saying because I didn’t have the mental capacity at the time to be able to know or discern, you know, this is not pretty much directed at me. It’s probably a projection. What I realize now, you know, so much years after, but I learned, you know,

Nick McGowan (25:12.94)
Yeah.

Rich Vysion (25:20.246)
after the fact that, a minute, like people are dealing with their stuff and they’re projecting, but you know, stuff that they’re going through from their past. And when I got into it early on, didn’t, I didn’t know the difference between, I didn’t know how to like process that. And so I turned into, I turned that trauma into, self harm. turned that trauma into music. I turned all that trauma into

you know, tears, times where I was, you know, contemplating, you know, if I should be here or not, like all that trauma, you know, from putting my worth, my self-worth into somebody else’s hands, you know, particularly strangers hands. That’s where a lot of the trauma came from was when people started talking, you know, smack about my music because I associated me as a person.

with my music. Outside of that, I did not know who I was. Music was such an integral part of my journey. So when people disrespected my music, I took it personally. I said, no, you disrespected me. I did not know how to differentiate the two until years later. And I realized that, wait a minute, there’s a…

Richard, you know, and then just also Rich Vision, like there’s two different sides. And, you know, I realized that after, you know, going through that trauma, what I learned is like, you know, that trauma helped me. And then also I was going through mental abuse, you know, at the time with a mentor of mine that helped me with my music career, which I had a falling out the year prior. And, you know, it ended up…

where I wanted to commit suicide the year before because of the fact that I was, you know, it was taxing mentally in my psyche. And what I learned from all that trauma and all that pain was I learned that like this can serve someone else. When I was in my room reflecting, doing meditation, looking at motivational videos,

Rich Vysion (27:46.22)
attempting to process all these things I was going through. like, at the back of my mind, I’m like, there’s something here for someone else. I kept on thinking like, this is going to serve someone else, you know, and they’re not going to even know it. It’s going to serve other people. And I kept on telling myself that like, wait a minute, like your words are powerful and it needs to be told. So I started thinking like, okay, I could write a, you know, a book about all these struggles and

I can write it out and process it. Because this book, From Victor to Victor, Transforming Trauma into Triumph, it’s not just a book of just empty words. It’s what I’ve been through in my life. it’s about, even though I felt victimized by a lot of the traumas that I’ve been through, I decided to write a new narrative for myself. And that was the thing that I decided to do.

that helped me heal was like, I learned to forgive my mentor. I learned to forgive myself because I thought I was in the wrong. And all these key things that I learned from that trauma really helped me navigate the mental health space because it helped me realize that my mental health is so important. And that’s when I called the therapist. I’m like, I need help.

Cause I did and it’s like, I didn’t want to say it cause I was so, I was had so much pride and that’s a stigma too as guys men are supposed to get therapy. They’re not supposed to take it in the chin. I, and I heard that so much. And I’m like, man, I’m like, there has to be another way to handle my emotions without taking it to the chin and just dealing with it and making it seem like I’m strong, but I’m not. I’m dying inside. I’m wearing a mask. You know, have shades on to cover.

Nick McGowan (29:19.424)
You

Rich Vysion (29:38.67)
up my eyes because I don’t want to cry in front of people. Like all that stuff piled up, that does something for someone. You know, for me, it did something for me. It kept me low, kept me not asking for help. It kept me wanting to commit suicide because I didn’t think I had anyone to speak to. And now I’m able to actually speak boldly about my trauma with a therapist and say, let’s work this out because I want to be here for my family.

Nick McGowan (30:04.318)
Yeah, big steps that take those small steps. I you have to take those little steps within yourself while you’re by yourself in your room or sitting on your couch or whatever. And those things start to add up. It sounds like you’ve grown a lot. You’ve learned a lot. There’s a lot of things that you’re still working through and trying to understand, especially with this fresh new being of who you are. So out of everything you’re working on and what you’ve learned so far, what’s that one piece of advice you’d give to somebody that’s on their path towards self-master?

Rich Vysion (30:35.139)
For me, I would say…

Rich Vysion (30:40.6)
see community because that helped me really master my mindset because I had such a defeatist mentality at the time years ago. And I realized when I stepped into accountability communities and also, you know, life coaching and things like that, I realized that people have so much

different perspectives that I had that challenged my limited beliefs, self-limiting beliefs, and helped me realize that I have so much potential and purpose in me. And it helped me really change that victim’s mentality to becoming victorious. And then I’m able to hold myself in a more higher regard versus

looking at me thinking I’m trash or I’m a waste of space, I started to really develop a stronger mental capacity to actually be able to write a different story for my life and say, a minute, I am enough versus I’m a failure. And that’s what I would want the person who’s listening to really take is that you have the ability to write your own story.

No one can write the pen for you. You’re the author of your life. if you don’t like anything in your life that you don’t want or you feel like it’s lacking, you can always pick up the pen. You can always rewrite a new story, one of resilience, one of courage, one of faith, great tenacity. You can write your own story, whatever that word is.

be able to overcome any struggles that comes their way.

Nick McGowan (32:41.12)
That’s great. I appreciate the advice and especially being able to understand that we all can pause and rewrite or continue to write the way that we want to write instead of what other people are telling us we should be writing. So Rich, I love where you’re at. I really appreciate and encourage you to continue to be who you are and nevermind what anybody else is saying, but keep doing the work that you’re doing, especially the internal work so that you can be the outward version of who you actually are.

and show other people that it’s okay to be them. I appreciate you being on today and for everything you’ve talked about. Before I let you go, where can people find you and where can they connect with you?

Rich Vysion (33:18.092)
so much.

Rich Vysion (33:21.826)
Yes, I appreciate the privilege of sharing my story. Of course, it’s really important to know that I’m not the only one struggling and that the person who’s listening can get the help that they deserve. If anyone wants to connect with me, I am RichVision. So that’s going to be R-I-C-H-V-Y like yellow S-I-O-N on all social media. So it’s going to be

R-I-C-H-V, like Victor, yellow, Y, S-I-O-N on all social media platforms. I have my single out called I Am Enough, Yes As I Am on Spotify. You can listen to it and feel empowered as a reminder that you are enough as you are and you don’t have to chase anybody’s validation but your own.

Nick McGowan (34:14.005)
Again, man, it’s been awesome to have you on. I appreciate your time today. Thank you.

Rich Vysion (34:18.51)
Thank you my brother.