Many successful people reinvented themselves in a later period in their lives. Jeff Bezos worked on Wall Street before he reinvented himself and started Amazon. Sara Blakely sold office supplies before she started Spanx. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a WWE wrestler before he became a successful actor and filmmaker. Arnold Schwarzenegger went from a bodybuilder, to an actor to a Governor. McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc was a milkshake-device salesman before starting the McDonalds franchise in his 50s.
How does one reinvent themselves? What hurdles have to be overcome to take life in a new direction? How do you overcome those challenges? How do you ignore the naysayers? How do you push through the paralyzing fear?
In this series called “Second Chapters; How I Reinvented Myself In The Second Chapter Of My Life “ we are interviewing successful people who reinvented themselves in a second chapter in life, to share their story and help empower others.
As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Torthell Robinson.
Torthell Robinson is a United States Air Force veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, completing deployments to LSA Anaconda in Iraq and Manas, Kyrgyzstan. After leaving the military, Robinson pursued a film education at the New York Film Academy and the Los Angeles Film School, using writing competitions to refine their craft. Their project, Men Will Be Boys, transitioned from a TV series concept to a book and has garnered recognition as a semifinalist in the 2024 ScreenCraft Virtual Pitch and Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition, among other accolades.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Ihighlighted a lot of my upbringing in my first novel titled Father Time. The book was loosely based on my life. I grew up in a single parent home with my mother and also had the pleasure of being raised by my favorite grandparents. We lived in a small town in Arkansas called Blytheville. My grandfather is a Retired Air Force troop and I followed his footsteps and joined myself. I joined right after high school and turned 18 in basic training.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One of my favorite quotes that I just heard was “If you don’t have a seat at the table, then you will end up on the menu.” This quote is relevant to my life because I came to a point where I knew that I needed to create my own opportunities as opposed to chasing things that were not created for me. Building my own platform allows me to set my own value as opposed to someone deciding what my value was. That is Leverage creation 101.
You have been blessed with much success. In your opinion, what are the top three qualities that you possess that have helped you accomplish so much? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
I am Relentless. If there is something I want, I will run through a brick wall to get it.
I have a Sense of humor. Growing up in the hood, you had to learn how to laugh through pain. My best friends are funny. Most of my folks are funny. So, beware. They will roast the shit out of you if you don’t come correct.
Adaptability. Because I move a lot during my days in the military, I have cultivated a mindset of being able to adapt to my surroundings.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about ‘Second Chapters’. Can you tell our readers about your career experience before your Second Chapter?
After separating from the military, I worked at a steel factory in Arkansas. Steel beams were passing me by as I felt like my life was. The money at the time was good for the area but I knew there was more for me to accomplish.
And how did you “reinvent yourself” in your Second Chapter?
One day I decided to quit and packed my bag and moved to Dallas. I thought I wanted to be an event planner but I’ve never been a fan of being in big crowds. I love to entertain crowds and I figured why not try film and television.
Can you tell us about the specific trigger that made you decide that you were going to “take the plunge” and make your huge transition?
I utilized the Post 9/11 GI Bill to pursue my education in film at the New York Film Academy and the Los Angeles Film School. Those schools allowed me to understand the process of filmmaking and aided me in exploring the idiosyncrasies of storytelling.
What did you do to discover that you had a new skillset inside of you that you haven’t been maximizing? How did you find that and how did you ultimately overcome the barriers to help manifest those powers?
I wrote a script and entered it in a film competition. Though I didn’t win, it gave me confidence in my ability. I knew that I could rumble with the big dogs. Also, Being around like minded people that wanted to maximize their life encouraged me. Steel sharpens steel.
How are things going with this new initiative? We would love to hear some specific examples or stories.
So far so good. Learning something new everyday. I am in the middle of it now so it is hard to say. But I love the hustle.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My grandfather. He hung the moon for me. Read Father Time my first novel and you will learn a little about him. I fictionalized it but you will get the point.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started in this new direction?
I am living in the most interesting part of my new direction. So ask me in 2 or 3 years
Did you ever struggle with believing in yourself? If so, how did you overcome that limiting belief about yourself? Can you share a story or example?
Sure. We all do. Being around people that do not add value to the world will drain your confidence.
In my own work I usually encourage my clients to ask for support before they embark on something new. How did you create your support system before you moved to your new chapter?
If you build it they will come. My close friends and family members allowed me to find myself without criticizing my decisions. And the ones that didn’t support me, I simply cut them off.
Starting a new chapter usually means getting out of your comfort zone, how did you do that? Can you share a story or example of that?
It was kind of an easy transition for me. I grew up in the hood and I went to war 2 different times during my military service to LSA Anaconda in Balad, Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) AKA Mortar-ritaville.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started” and why?
1 . Save more than you spend. And while you’re at it… Buy a home in Las Vegas during the housing market crash.
2 . Just because someone is your relative doesn’t mean that you are family. I’ve wasted a lot of time in my life being around people that were relatives who did not have my best interest.
3 . Make sure you get a seat at the table or you will wind up on the menu.
4 . If you stay in environments where people don’t recognize the value of you will shrink your gift to the size of what they can stand.
5 . Do not shrink your vision because they can’t catch up. Refuse to be small because they think small.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would love to help an HBCU build up their film department. We have to stop letting other people dictate our stories.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. 🙂
I would say Ice Cube or Charles D. King. They both are to men that are in film and TV who are tearing the game up in their own right. Ice Cube is in my top 10 rappers list of all time had the best pivot into film/tv and created classic work that stands the test of time. Charles D. King understands the culture for a corporate perspective. Every project he has produced has left an impression on me.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Follow me @torthell on IG, X, TikTok. My website is: Bookcollectionbytorthell.com