#58 Discipline is Destiny: Indebted to Dedication

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.What is friendship in 2026? Why do people feel more hopeless about it now than ever before in history? What does it take to prioritize someone to build and sustain a friendship? What are the 5 levels of friendship? How do you progress from one to the next? Why do some people stay stuck at a particular one? How many hours does it take to go from stranger to intimate friend? We dive into all of this — with the backdrop of one of my favorite days all year, October 3, 2026. Spending time with someone requires vulnerability that usually never gets brought to the surface. What does it sound like when two friends are finding their way back to equilibrium and spend 12+ hours in the world, showing that new experiences can become new favorite old memories? We do our best to change that. Hope you enjoy!–WV

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.My sister and I took a grueling multi-city bus trip from Providence to Chicago just to see kanYE West live at Soldier Field. Strange station chaos, serendipitous strangers, one unforgettable concert night, Chicago camaraderie, plus five ways long travel wears on your body and five ways to fight back. A story about endurance, family, and chasing an experience hopefully worth the journey. Was it worth it in the end? Did we come back the same way? Listen & find out!

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.August 20, 2016. A national holiday to many. “He made an album better than ‘Channel Orange’” — when I first heard this, it seemed unfathomable, but I sit here 10 years later knowing every word was true. As much as I love the initial offering, the second is just in another stratosphere. We watched a livestream for 30 days of silence and occasional sightings of a man building furniture, and then nothing, and then…. sound bloomed from the speakers in the wee hours of the night. It was not for nought. Then an album comes out of nowhere the next day — the album we didn’t know was the main album, after a visual album we thought was the album. That’s a lot of albums. ‘Blond(e)’ is the reason we don’t have exclusives anymore, no one album tied to a distributor for a week or weeks before everyone else gets it. Guess we should say thank you.Thoughts remembered: leaving New York City after officially falling in love with it, making connections between Baldwin and Endless songs. Leaving — hearing Endless and Blond(e) during the golden hour — felt like the city was saying goodbye in the most cinematic way possible. Driving to the Northeast from Georgia and hearing ‘White Ferrari’ come on at the end of a journal entry.Hearing unfinished versions on loop of songs like ‘Ivy’ and ‘Siegfried’ before they went by their proper name and ended up in their final form is something I’ll never forget. To the geniuses of this world: keep creating, take your time, but don’t stop creating — even if it’s just a grocery list, we’d be indebted.“YOU CUT YOUR HAIR / BUT YOU USED TO LIVE A BLONDED LIFE”We’ll always live a blonded life. Thanks, Frank.–WV8/20/26new episode out now...#FrankOcean #Blonde #BlondeAlbum #SpaceAndTimePodcast #CulturePodcast #CreativeFreedom #MusicPodcast #Nostalgia #SelfControl #WhiteFerrari #Endless #Ivy #GiovannisRoom

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.When we lose a loved one, how do we shift from mourning a death to celebrating a life if we've never been shown? I wrote a piece called "49 Candles" on July 31, 2026 that is on my website to honor my uncle, Unildo Mendes, who would have turned 49 that day and I wanted to record a podcast to commemorate the moment. In this episode I share my favorite memories of him and what I told my grandmother the second time I was told by someone that I reminded them of him. Plus 10 ways you can honor someone's life in their afterlife. I really love this one, hope y'all do, too! Live your life in full color like he did, see and be seen!-Wilson Admir Barbosa Mendes Vaz

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note."Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up" -Picasso This episode is very special for so many reasons, I recorded it in Halifax, Nova Scotia with help from my sister, Sabrina, one of my favorite creative partners. Our family took our first official full-cast family vacation in celebration of our mother's birthday, Gemini season. I was able to convey many ideas I've lived with for some time. The whole episode centers around the idea of why we procrastinate so much with things that we wan to accomplish, that we say we do. Put things in the world and come what may, but get it out of your system, that's what I'm trying to focus on these days. -WV

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.From New York and back — this episode almost didn't happen. I went searching for something to say and came home with everything I needed. What started as a failed recording attempt in the city became one of the most clarifying experiences I've had with this podcast. New York has a way of doing that — showing you everything at once and making you sort through it alone.This episode is about happiness. What it looks like, what we perform, and what we actually feel when no one is watching. It's about wealth disparity, restraint, connection, and the quiet moments that reveal the most. It's about why I do this — because I say the things most people feel but can't find the words for.I went to New York frustrated. I came back with a poem, a purpose, and this episode.

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.This episode is about first things first. Just do the thing. Plan but do something right after before fear and doubt creep in, leading to inertia. I am talking through the process from getting an idea to how that idea never sees the light of day sometimes. But most importantly, I'm doing! Go do something you love, too! Collect → Create → ReleaseWhat do you do when no one's watching but you?Are you doing what you said - or is fear winning?Creativity and adult life pull hard in opposite directions.But even that tension? Use it.Colliding worlds is a gift.Glad I can show it.Pull the curtains back. Fail forward.Think → Do → ReleaseSimple. Right???-WV

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.Send us a textI took a long and winding journey up the Northeast roads on October 26, 2025, stopping at cafes, driving through small Americana towns, and for a small hike. We had a great chat with 74 year-old Paul and his dog about the trail, marriage, regrets, and how he would do life differently if possible. We greeted several others in this vast wooded area—walking in search of something or escaping something, who knows. We then came across this beautiful scene to serve as the backdrop for my thoughts on the occasion. Each orbit around our luminary anchor should come with reflection about who we've been, who we are now, and who we want to be later. Thank you to the dear friends who know that being IN community with others requires TIME and ENERGY. What are we doing for your birthdays?! Send a pigeon.-WVExtra honey in my teaBut still not a cup for everyone My love/life is a slow burn The constant choosing of conscience In a world meant for you to not hear yourselfThe offering itself is the giftNot everyone will stick around long enough to see itAnd that’s OK‘Sometimes that’s what you need to see yourselfBreakthrough & free yourselfAccept your own & be yourselfIt’s magic’-WV

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.Send us a textWe are all under the same Sun. From Praia to Lagos, so much remains the same. It’s always fascinated me how much, from Nigeria to Barbados to Jamaica to Angola to Guinea to Mozambique to Haiti to Senegal to Cape Verde, felt like a simulation. All these black men with the same disposition and mannerisms and bluetooths hanging out of their ear. I can’t describe to you how funny all these cultures collectively are to me. Separated but you can’t hide the roots. But are real conversations actually happening? Are these black men saying, “I’m going through it right now, I’m really struggling with ____”? Not so much that I’ve seen. We have to give people permission to be themselves sometimes. To say, “you can say how you actually feel and still be manly.” I guess that’s one of my missions here. Anyway, Tomi & I sat down to put it on the line & air some dirty laundry. “You can’t ruin a true connection by saying how you feel.” I believe that to my core. “The Brothers” (2001) served as the inspo for this one here, hope you enjoy. -WV 

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.Send us a text“Finding Love After Love &… A Baby”What does modern dating really sound like? Are we saying what we feel—or just thinking it? Inspired by André 3000’s “Where Are My Panties” skit, this episode explores dating dynamics & more. “Where are all three good men?!” I hear women say. Are both genders looking in the same place & for the same things? If you passed your perfect match, would either of you notice? Can love find you again after love…and a baby? The Love Below: The Night Before. Pull up a chair.-WV