you could go back in time to your 25-year-old self and you could give him one piece of advice what would you say to him if I had asked for what I me versus like looking for this physically beautiful person I would have probably been married once versus four times here I am at 61 I feel I'm just like really discovering who I really am if I can go back in life and do things differently I would definitely do them differently the way I did for sure is that a regret oh yes us wow in this video I'll be interviewing 61-year-old Celebrity Fashion photographer Matthew Jordan Smith who is known most for photographing the likes of zanda Oprah Samuel Jackson and artha Franklin on massive campaigns but what you don't know about Matthew is that he's from New York but at age 52 he moved to Tokyo Japan he's on his fourth marriage his life is full of ups and downs which in the Sprout World means he has a ton of valuable insights and wisdom to share this might be one of my favorite conversations yet so please enjoy this conversation with Matthew Jordan Smith how old are you I am 61 I'll be 62 in a few months what does it feel like to be 61 and almost 62 here turning 60 was probably the first year where I I thought about age yeah it's my life I've never really thought about it of course I live in Japan now and this is a very age conscious Society but turning 60 now I'm aware that oh I may not I don't have 60 year more years left does life feel real to you like the fragility of it it does it definitely does life does feel real to me probably now at this point in my life more than ever the last 3 years uh I lost my youngest sister in 2021 during covid then my father the following year then my mother on December 30th uh 2023 and seeing things change and and as a photographer I have always pictures of my entire family so those pictures to me that I shot in 2020 it feels like yesterday but the world's changed a lot for me in 3 years what what is it like if you don't mind me asking I'm sorry for your losses what what is it like to go through those moments I mean those are life altering they are they are it's uh it's intense because until you go through it yourself there's nothing anybody can tell you to prepare you for what that feels like even this past Christmas for me you know I I go home and visit either somebody in my family my parents usually but this is the first year first Christmas holiday when there was no one to go home too it shook me up thinking about that it makes you think differently about life and and time and the time that you have that we have the way you're saying the way the way you think about life is very different right now what do you think most people who are are watching and just kind of coasting through life or not thinking too hard about and maybe should be I think everybody's thinking that or taking for granted that you're going to wake up tomorrow right and that's not true we know that life can change in an instant you know just not taking life for granted and taking taking every day and and being thankful for everything you have in the moment my father passed from altimer uh my mother from cancer my sister from cancer so I I watched that process and with my father he almost forgot how to swallow which sounds weird right if you can't drink I mean can't drink water you you think about those things so every day now I wake up and I pray and thank God I than the Creator and I thank him for the first glass of water that I drank I hold it up I thank God for that glass of water I drink that water and then I go to the gym that's my day to start every single day now yeah for people who don't know what do you do for a living I'm a celebrity fashioned Beauty photographer I've done that uh my entire life my entire career has been photography how does one become a celebrity photographer I've always wondered that I started off being a a Fashion Beauty photographer more on the beauty side doing cosmetic uh this is my life shooting all this from here to here right clients saw my beauty work and requested me to shoot covers of magazines and then I got asked do celebrities and then it kind of blossomed and Blossom and I became like this cover guy shooting all these covers um and became all celebrities I get to know celebrities and it just Blossom from there wow what do you think differentiated and differentiates kind of you over your career to have allows you to get to this place I think just really loving your craft and not having a goal of fame or or money just loving the craft if you do that I think you'll have a long career just chasing The Superficial Parts I think that will fade you got to love it you got to love it when things are great and when they're slow because there's es and flows to business and if you're only going to be there for the good times you're not going to have a long career and you started when if photography started I started as a photo assistant in 1987 in New York City all right so people who are like around my age are I mean we live in world with instant gratification where we want to get everything done fast how does one approach a career that they might want to love in building them I think you said it right there you got to love it because even being a photo assistant I love that whole process I loved being around of the creatives watching things happen come to life I loved the business and I still love it today so I think You' got to have that first and then things just happen so money wasn't the first objective not at all not at all I mean but back in the day in New York City I was living literally off of peanut butter and jelly yeah when I think of the world now and I think of complaints that younger people make I think a lot of them is you know I want I need to make money right like things are expensive how can I balance the need to make money while also balancing the the desire to have a career I love it's funny if you're thinking about just surviving that part is not so hard but people don't talk about not talking about surviving I'm talking about having all the stuff for me at 61 about to turn 62 especially living in Japan I don't value stuff the way I used to when you're young you do you want the cars you want all the stuff you want to live what you may think is a great life yeah whatever that looks like but it's it's really more just like enjoying your life and what you do and and finding out early what's really important to you not what's important to everybody else H okay to do that what is a question that I can ask myself I'm watching this what is a question I can ask myself to maybe get closer to that cuz you're saying how do you you find what you want to do and what you value to to get to the answer to that I think you've got to really spend time diving into who you are as a person being totally open and discover who you are for me here I am at 61 I feel I'm just like really discovering who I really am if I could go back in life and do things differently I would definitely do them differently than the way I did for sure to find out who you really are you've got to be tested tests show you who you really are when you're going through rough times it shows you who you are don't be afraid you know I think people are afraid to try something new when you're young try everything yeah don't be afraid because you you get the fruit when you go out on a limb so go out on a limb and try something a lot of people who are let's say older they say when you're young try everything what about with you're not not young well I moved to Japan only 8 years ago so I was you know in my 50s when I moved here yeah a lot of people wouldn't do that I'm like you know leaving all my clients that I know in the stat it was a very scary thing but you have one life and you have to do the things you want to do because tomorrow's not promised and why live this life thinking like oh I'm I'm living based on my career I want to live my life doing things that I want to do yeah so we are in Tokyo in Japan I'm visiting here I'm traveling through here you live here how did this happen cuz you're not originally from Japan no not at all I'm I'm from New York originally grew up in South Carolina went back to New York to start my career and I was the guy who said I'd never leave New York I thought was the center of the world then I got burnt out from maybe working too much I don't know and I I took a month-long trip went to India and on that trip I decided I'm going to move I come to visit Japan maybe 10 times in my life and I loved it it felt like the best of New York and leaving the worst Parts out and I made the move here and you're how old when you made that move 52 52 wow yeah 52 53 almost like yeah it's a scary move to like make that move but when you're older you don't feel different you feel the same like I now can distinguish between my body and Matthew the soul of me which is different and I feel that and and you've got to do the things for your soul that give you happiness cuz you don't get another chance what did the people around you think when you decided at 52 to move to Japan they feel was crazy they all think it was crazy I so I interviewed I was telling about wins right and most people here have probably seen win's video a big topic that I've I asked him about was being black in Japan I would love to hear your perspective oh man I got to tell you I feel it's strange to say this but I feel more more at home here than I do back in my own country I feel much safer here than I do in my own country it's not easy to work here yeah you know I'm self-employed so that helps but I know other friends who have a hard time getting work besides being a teacher or being in Tech even as a photographer I probably make more money being back in the States well I know I would but I live longer here the opinions of other people is they don't matter it is AR arguably the thing that bothers people the most though I mean you said everyone thought you were crazy you did it anyways how do you kind of how did you deal with that nobody cares about you I mean we all think oh what are they going to say but maybe they say something for like an instant and then they're on to somebody else nobody really cares about you and what you do with your life except for you maybe your family might say something here and there but ultimately they're thinking about themselves right most people are so live your life for you that's all that matters did you ever care a lot did you put emphasis on that like is this like a reason too much yeah absolutely when did that change losing my family members made me realize that you have to live for you and what and what you believe and not be scared of what anybody thinks everybody wants to be part of a group and be accepted but you have to live your life true to you and what you believe is important and living in Japan I'm living that life for for me not for my family not for my friends this is for me and and and for my soul it's it's the best thing at this point in my life yeah I love living here you said you've been married four times married right now but three didn't work out if you're thinking back on those experiences what why did those all work out in the beginning I think because I was like oh if it's not my way is the highway always also I think living in New York you feel like you're living in a candy store that is the biggest problem with the dating world right now it is it is but I got to tell you all these things you think matter they don't I can tell you this for sure the things that people especially men think are so important they are not example stop looking for this this beautiful woman who you think is like the end all Beall and get to know the person as as a person see what you have in common find out about you know the Bible talks about being equally yoke super important who's going to be your friend for a long time that's what's important it's not about the physical like many people think like I used to think back in the day it's not about that at all it's really about having a real connection even when you don't believe the same thing still having a great connection being able to talk about anything and everything those things are important and you've been with your wife right now 8 years uh 8 years dat did two years before that the longest relationship in my life yeah so this is okay so the longest relationship in your life can you define the word love for me oh yes us wow loving the person whether they love you back or not it's very easy to love somebody when they're loving you and everything's perfect and wonderful but when love is tested if they hurt your feelings or go against what you think is your core will you stop loving that person and if you do is that really love love is forgiving somebody over and over and over again love is letting the person do the things that they enjoy even though you may not love is love is evolving all the time and love is never giving up I think you you are better than Morgan Freeman I I think you you would be a fantastic narrator I don't know about all that I just know you know the one thing of of being through so many relationships in my life and chasing the wrong thing I finally figured out that we have to let go of everything that you think that you want and for me it was asking asking God to to bring the person in my life that I need to be with and have faith Faith's a funny thing cuz it's the one thing that people have a hard time with you know if you can't you can't see something physically you don't believe it but faith is that believing what you can't see and truly trusting we're kids ever on the table for you is that a regret yeah it is I think when I was much younger for sure are like oh yeah one day one day one day and I always put it off and then when I met my my wife now we were both older and he was off the table I feel like all these things happen for a reason M so I don't question them I have a question here from my my goal setting Journal we ask everybody this journal it's great there oh thank you yeah this is It's a journal that we basically created um based on like all the interviews we've done and has three parts that helps you figure your life out you know you said at the beginning who am I right so actually here look at this this is the the first section is called who am I and it leads into setting goals and which basically oh this is fantastic oh I want one I definitely want one of these I love that I love that I do believe in and I'm old school pined to paper I exactly we don't sell a digital version so the question I have here is so what is a goal that you set for yourself maybe when you were younger that you still have not achieved God there's so many goals that have not achieved that I thought I wanted uh you know making a million dollars in a year I haven't hit that goal that was a goal because you hear it so much but I'm not sure if that was really my goal for me like money is not a driving force for me it's not the end all Beall uh so I'm fine with that goal for me it's more enjoying my my life and and having experiences why do most people not achieve their goals I think people are scared a lot of people may be scared or fearful not scared they're fearful of going through the pain it will take to achieve their goal and many goals it will take some pain it won't be easy I've done four books now none of them were easy none of them were easy right yeah every I think everything that was that you wanted that was meaningful to was probably difficult to aeve absolutely absolutely you know moving here was not easy but I'm thankful I'm here if I'm watching this and I'm maybe working a job I'm not happy with I'm maybe not in the right relationship or not the right relationship status what would you say are maybe three steps that that person could take to go from where they are now to where they want to be first thing uh like even like your Journal book writing down deciding what you really love in your life not just like we all like a lot of different stuff but Define what you love spend time just writing those things down then find out how to make those things come to life in your life you know the word love is overused in many ways but when you think about what you really love that's only a few things now leaving the job may not be easy but nothing good in life comes easy if you could go back in time to your 25-year-old self and you know everything that you know today and you could give him one piece of advice advice on living a great life what what would you say to him oh wow I I wish I could go back to my 25-year-old self and it would be to not be afraid cuz I think I've been far along if I had not been afraid of what people think I didn't read the going back again again to the Bible I was afraid of what would think if they saw me doing this or doing that when I should have read it for myself it would have made my life much much better I would have seen things differently I would be been more forgiving earlier I would have loved differently I think I have to put an affiliate code on the Bible in this video thank you so much pleasure pleasure pleasure man appreciate it man that was amazing thank you so much for watching this video If You aligned with anything Matthew said and you're unsatisfied with life you want to live a more fulfilling life check out our goal setting Journal Linked In the description and on the screen right now to take your life from where it is today to where you would like it to be thanks again and we'll see you in the next one