Glenton Davis serves as Founder and Executive Director of Soul Pop U. Davis is a cum laude graduate of the prestigious Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics. Immediately following, he went to Wall Street where he spent over two years working as the financial analyst to the Chief Investment Officer of J.P. Morgan Global Asset & Wealth Management, responsible for over $600 billion in discretionary assets. His hard work and talent at the financial titan earned him a place in Fortune Magazine’s “Faces of the Future” – a list of Who to Watch among young people in the corporate world. He recently left Wall Street to pursue a full time career in music, and to promote the release of his EP “Are You Ready,” which was released to critical acclaim and yielded a Top 400 dance single in Canada called “Go Get on the Floor”. Davis also has a publishing deal with Munich based The Globe Art Group, distributed by Sony/BMG. Davis has also worked in youth development as a Student Advocate for the Harlem Children’s Zone. He can be reached at http://www.soulpopuniversity.com.

We’re interviewing Glenton on the radio show, The Passions and Possibilities Network, broadcasting this Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 9am PST.  Tune in live via (347) 205-9038 or streaming audio:  The Passions and Possibilities Radio Show

Glenton’s Passiongraphy Q&A:

SO: What’s your definition of “passion”?

Passion is discovering your Life Purpose, the overarching and intangible “it” which gets you out of bed and keeps you out of bed with a burning desire to share it with others.

SO: What have been the key factors in your success and what one word best describes it?

One word: ASK
The key factor to my early success has been to get on the phone and ask, write that email and ask, drop by that office unannounced, and ASK. Ask until someone says YES.

SO: What has been your biggest challenge(s) in leaping into your passions, and how you have addressed them?

My biggest challenge has been dealing with the uncertainty. Regardless of how sound your plan may be – whether it be organizational, financial, personal or otherwise – things change, quickly. And the changes can hurt, badly. I’ve had to learn that after you jump off the cliff, you will undoubtedly hit some big rocks while you build the wings to fly. It takes unparalleled resilience to keep building those wings – a resilience I have had to dig really deep into my being to find. The blessing is when you begin to uncover it you can learn to trust that this light of entrepreneurship is a gift – YOUR gift – to share with the world.

SO: Who or what inspired you to leap into your passion?

After 2 and a half years on Wall Street, I decided to leave for two reasons. First, I realized that I have been given so many opportunities so early in my life. Why not take them and leverage them into a venture about which I was wholly passionate? I am 25 years old. Now is my time to step out on faith, to take big risks to contribute, to give back, and to make my career and my life fully my own. Second, I also am a recording artist, and my single “Go Get on the Floor” broke through the Top 400 pop songs in Canada, lighting a fire beneath me to give all of these passions a go. I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, to run my own businesses, to grow them and watch them develop into brands, into ways of life that give back to the communities around them. My work up until now has all been a series of stepping stones towards this goal.

SO: Do you have a quote that you would like to share that speaks of you and your passion?

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.”    – Goethe

SO: What do you hope people would say about you when you’re gone?

Glenton Davis was a man of great passion and great spirit who lived his ultimate purpose in this life: to make our souls pop.

SO: What three brief tips can you give to somebody making the leap into their passion?

For aspiring entrepreneurs, I can offer the following advice. If you’re waiting until you’re ready, until you have enough money saved, until this, that, or the other – embrace the fear and step off the cliff. You will never be ready. Trust yourself to build wings on the way down. Another lesson that I continue to learn – and one that I think is crucial to achieving success as an entrepreneur – is to define your vision, see that vision in front of you, and commit to turning your thoughts into something tangible, no matter what. There will undoubtedly be roadblocks along the way. Some will feel larger than life, as though they cannot be moved and you cannot find a way around them. With time, learn to be strong like steel, to keep your higher purpose for change, for action, burning bright in the forefront of your mind. It will not always be easy, and it will not always feel good. Trust that with committed persistence, you will manifest tomorrow for others what you see today.