There's a reason why they call it "The Big Apple", and after years of pretending, I finally admit why it's not my favorite fruit.
Art by Pete Whitehead
Listen Free: | Apple Podcasts | Pandora | Stitcher | Spotify |
Story performed by: Aaron Calafato
Audio Production: Ken Wendt
Original Art: Pete Whitehead
Podcast Coordinator: Cori Birce
Creative Consultant: Anthony Vorndran
TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:03.530] - Aaron Intro
Hey everybody, it's Aaron. Listen, it's been about a year this February since the pandemic, in the U.S., started to become a reality and wreak havoc on our lives. So, I just wanted to say to you, wherever you're listening in the U.S. and around the world, thanks for checking in every week and listening to my stories and the narratives we tell here. Also, just wanted to share with you, and I really believe this. I know this sounds generic as hell, but we're almost through this thing. There is light at the other end of the tunnel and whatever it is you're going through, some of you have probably gone through unimaginable trauma. I just wanted to say, and I believe this, whatever it is you're going through, something better is on the other side of this. So hang in there, OK? Just do me a favor and hang in there. And in the meantime, take your mind off stuff by listening to this next 7 Minute Story. It's titled NYC. Hope you enjoyed it. Talk to you guys soon.
[00:01:12.630] - Aaron Calafato Story
I am the world's greatest salesman, and my number one client is me (laughs), That's how I got to that position because I sold myself infinitely. I can sell myself on anything. It's uncanny, really. It's like a superpower. And with all great superpowers, there's a positive side to it and then a negative side to it. And on the positive side, the benefit of having a salesman psyche like a top of the line salesman psyche that you can't say no to yourself. Is that you can convince yourself to do things and push through barriers, and that's not just motivation, that's a misnomer there. It's not just like, "oh, I want to get up and be motivated. I'm motivated". It's not that I really believe it's a sales sit with yourself. And there are moments and there have been many times with me where it's like, can I do this? Am I able to do this podcast? You think people are going to listen to 7 Minute Stories? I don't know. And there's been moments where salesman Aaron has had to come in and go, yeah, they will. And here's why. And that drives me forward.
[00:02:19.330]
If you have a salesman psyche, that is negative. It can take you into a negative space, you can have self-doubt and self-loathing and all that stuff if you have a salesman psyche that's weak and that doesn't push when you decide to do something like, you know what, "I really want to follow that dream. I really want to open that business." If your salesman psyche is like "probably not going to happen, probably should pass on that opportunity", then you probably won't do it.
[00:02:47.940]
So, I'm grateful for that side of it. But the negative side of how I am and being that good salesman to myself, is that I can end up in situations that aren't really healthy. And most of all, it just promotes a bad habit at times of being dishonest with myself, that selling myself becomes so important. Or, when I decide to do something, I want to follow that instinct so much and not feel like I made the wrong choice that I can sell myself into being in a situation where I've made the wrong choice. And that's happened to me. And in particular, I have an example of how I did that to myself with my relationship with the city of New York.
[00:03:30.840]
See when I graduated college, I was faced with the question and it was two cities, New York or L.A., New York or L.A. That's like the business voice you had to pick one. Which one are you going to do? Then you get to go to auditions. I didn't know anything about that shit. I knew that that's what people told me I should do. That's what people in college said. That's kind of the path that you have to take. And I just knew that all the actors I watched movies, they went to New York. That's why I decided to go to New York. That's it. That's the only reason, nothing deeper than that. And so once I made that choice to go to New York, that salesman psyche kicked in and is like, that's what you're going to do because that's the goal and that's the dream.
[00:04:10.640]
Look, New York is one of the greatest cities in the entire world for a reason. There's some amazing, amazing things, and it's the right fit for so many people. Here's the reality. I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland. I grew up in Northeast Ohio. I grew up in a mid-market, you know, city. And so there's a particular way of living here. And in fact, for a long time, I criticized that way of living. For a long time, I was like, "yeah, man, there's got to be something better out there. I got to shake the dust of this town off my shoes and head and take over the world." Right? I had that same sort of Jimmy Stewart thing. But then what you realize is what's in front of you. At least here there's a beauty in that simplicity. There's a beauty in the fact that it's accessible. There's a beauty in the fact that you can be safe in a suburb.
[00:04:56.180]
And when I went out to New York, I couldn't really say that stuff because in a lot of artistic circles, you're supposed to make fun of the suburbs. You're supposed to make fun of the fact of how homogenized it is, or make fun of the fact that industrial cities like Cleveland just don't have the same kind of quote unquote culture that places like New York have. And so I got into those spaces. And to be honest with you, the salesperson kicked in and I started to belittle where I was from in those conversations in order to sell myself. Not for those people, but because I was so determined to do this acting thing, that I was willing to flip the script on what was true to me. Which was a really like New York, it was great to visit, but shit, it's an oppressive city.
[00:05:39.460]
I mean, listen, I like the fact that I can find parking in Ohio. I like the fact that it takes me two seconds to drive to a place and find a parking spot. That's how it works. You see, we have highways and roads and then you drive and you park at a place and you walk in. I'm in New York. What are we doing? We're circling for parking. We're circling for parking for an hour? Yeah, I'm in New York. I'm in a subway. There's a guy peeing in the corner. He's urinating in the corner. I'm thinking, what is happening here, by the way, all the New Yorkers, predominantly the Midwesterners who go out to Brooklyn and claim New York as their own, they're going to tell you "that's just the culture, man. Got to deal with it. That's what New York offers." No, it doesn't. That's unsanitary. And that's a dude pissing on a train.
[00:06:20.890]
That sucks. I don't like that. That's what I said. That's what was really going on inside of me. I didn't like the fact that I was surrounded by all these people in apartments and there was mice and rats and rodents. I didn't like the fact that every single day was a pile of trash, steaming trash on every corner. I didn't like the fact that going over a bridge smelled like I was going over a landfill. I didn't like the fact I couldn't see trees like real actual trees in a forest that wasn't man-made. I didn't like the fact that, listen, I got stuck in the subway all the time, literally stuck, packed with people. There's people screaming and there's body odor and everyone's depressed. There's so many things about it that suck. I didn't like the fact that I could never make a living. You can live like a king in places like Cleveland and St. Louis and Detroit. It's got its problems. There's so many things that suck here, too. But let me tell you something.
[00:07:11.260]
The dollar goes a long way. You can buy a house and a life and raise kids and all that shit, and you don't have to make millions of dollars to feel that sense of privilege. You can have a piece of that out here. And the only price tag is that you have to be less cool.
[00:07:27.270]
Man, it feels so good to tell you this because it's the truth. And it's a truth that maybe motivated me to eventually leave New York and come back home where I'm at now. But I never told that truth to anybody. I never was honest. I was still in the salesman mode. And I would tell people, oh, I left because of student debt or I left because of a change of scenery and all this stuff. No, here's the real story:
[00:07:52.020]
I left New York because all the reasons I told you, and a thousand times more, but I left because I missed home. I missed my uncool city and my uncool suburb. It's a part of me. It's in my blood. I'm inspired by it. And I wanted to pursue the dream I started out in New York and I wanted to live it here and see if that was possible. And so I'm trying that right now. Look, if my life was a T-shirt company, I would have a bunch of shirts that said, I love Ohio, I love Cleveland, I love my suburb. And then I would have one shirt that said, I like New York.
[00:08:42.680]
Seven minute stories is created and performed by Aaron Calafato, audio production by Ken Wendt you can connect with at media216.com. Original Artwork by Pete Whitehead. See Pete's work at petewhitehead.com. Our creative consultant is Anthony Vorndran. Special thanks to our partners at Evergreen Podcast. And lastly, I'm Cori Birce. Make sure and tune in next week for another story!
