“I Bring Goodness To This Planet By Encouraging People To Use More Color In Their Life To Change Their Mood”

Words of Wisdom With Bernard Charles the Color Mage

I bring goodness to this planet by encouraging people of all regions, religions and races to recognize our shared humanity. I do this by educating others about essential oils and ways to use more color in their life to change their mood. I’ve inspired others at talks and presentations. …If you have that first sale or find yourself unemployed — I encourage you to volunteer for a cause, donate and decide to connect to the collective human spirit. We are generous creatures so my success is your success and your success is my success. This is why sharing our stories, using our success for good and making art matters because it’s adding to our shared humanity. Helping our evolution as a species. Ain’t nobody got time for scarcity or poverty.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Bernard Charles millennial thought leader behind TheColorMage.com and author of Rainbow Revolution. Bernard also created the best-selling color therapy deck for artists, designers and psychic intuitive readers called The Color Mage Oracle and making over $80,000 in sales last year using color psychology and essential oils to make the world a happier and cleaner place to thrive. You might have seen him already in Positively Positive, Bustle and Soul and Spirit Magazine inspiring millions with his unconventional insight.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your “backstory”?

Haha, read my book. Honestly, my backstory is about a boy who bravely believes in the power of love, light, and color regardless of how cynical and uptight this planet can be — we have the power. I was kicked out of the house at 14, bullied in school for my sexuality, and assaulted two weeks after my 25th birthday by my father and step-mother. These are a few of my darkest and hardest times as a human. I know what rejection, abandonment and shame feels like. I also know what poverty can do to the mind and how much we sacrifice of ourselves because we’re afraid of what change can bring. During the darkest hours though, I’ve learned to surrender into my backstory’s triumphs and boil those lessons down into core values (love, light, and color) to focus forward.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you in the course of your career?

Besides smiling at Reese Witherspoon on my first solo airplane ride from Philly to Pittsburgh or that time I won a sponsorship to fly out to Los Angeles for a Reality TV expo, an interesting moment in my career as an online influencer happened at a crystal gemstone show in New Jersey where I was browsing colorful rocks when I hear “Bernard! Is that the color mage?” I turned around and this woman was smiling ear to ear. She recognized me from my Instagram and had been following me for sometime. I never experienced this before and it was exciting. I got to know a fan more and it reminds me that we must respect our online connections and reputation. Oh and if you’re curious about Reese, she is a gem! She talked so politely to the other passengers and all I did was smile and she returned a smile in kind.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I leverage my success in different ways, but mostly I bring goodness to this planet by encouraging people of all regions, religions and races to recognize our shared humanity. I do this by educating others about essential oils and ways to use more color in their life to change their mood. I’ve inspired others at talks and presentations. I even tap into my collegiate degree and offer digital marketing consulting for small and medium sized businesses. The goodness I bring with me whether I’m helping employees find equality in the workplace or talking about astrology online centers on my core values and what I call the human element. Projects, companies and campaigns have to reflect our humanity or I don’t sign up. I often refuse proposals if it doesn’t resonate with my vision of a happier and cleaner world where everyone thrives as a human being. If you have that first sale or find yourself unemployed — I encourage you to volunteer for a cause, donate and decide to connect to the collective human spirit. We are generous creatures so my success is your success and your success is my success. This is why sharing our stories, using our success for good and making art matters because it’s adding to our shared humanity. Helping our evolution as a species. Ain’t nobody got time for scarcity or poverty.

If someone would want to emulate your career, what would you suggest are the most important things to do?

My career can be chopped into bits because there’s so many aspects to what I do. I’m a network marketer, digital media specialist, author, card reader, speaker and influencer. Being multi passionate allows me to love authentically, but sometimes I don’t want to make every hobby into a career. I don’t strive to want it all. So I’d recommend getting familiar with you and understand what lights you up. You can a read Fire Starter Sessions or The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte to discover your personal fuel. Knowledge is power and so you’d also have to follow Marie Forleo’s advice on remaining open to learning. Even if you think you already know something, you have to be proactive on learning something new. Tarot is an industry that’s been done over and over, but the artwork could be different or the wording to describe the messages are unique. Even if you wanted to emulate my career or someone else’s I firmly believe that you have to be comfortable with you — the real you and uncovering that alone could feel like a full-time job. But, it’s in this space of self-discovery that your life-purpose meets your career. Oh and if you’re already on this chariot of character development and wanna do something like me that’s worked — I’d suggest joining a community whether it’s through a legitimate network marketing opportunity or coaching program with a solid and trustworthy leader. Your vibe calls your tribe. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for other people taking care of people. Being open to human connection and relationships matter in bolstering your career.

Is there a particular person that made a profound difference in your life to whom you are grateful?

My first boss — Jo.

Can you share a story?

When I was in high school, I missed the summer internship deadline (because my uneducated family wasn’t privileged with a profession or connections to make it happen), but the department that handled student workers enjoyed my enthusiasm so much they offered me to work with the school’s interior design coordinator. Jo changed my life because not only did she accept me for me, but she also took the time to teach me the secrets of an abundant universe (not a poor one). We’ve had soulful discussions about spirituality, color and her number one lesson about measuring twice and cutting once. As a graduation gift, she handed me a copy of The Secret. Jo always knew I struggled with believing in myself. Afterall, I did come from the broken side of the system. Going to Milton Hershey School was a space created out of love, offering education to enlighten children of poverty and eventually expanding to embrace our shared humanity through color and diversity. It’s here I came out to myself and discovered my infamous orange scarf that triggered my own spiritual journey. Jo gave me not only clear direction as a boss, but also room to play by designing my own floral arrangements. She listened to my ideas and understood the blessings of plants and herbs. She was the catalyst to my career and set the tone for professional transformation over the years. I’m grateful that I’ve met her and others online and offline that remind me that love, light, and color is the way to healing yourself personally and professionally.

So what are the most exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m looking to work with advertising and marketing agencies to offer my digital media skills. I understand the impact the media and entertainment world has on our shared humanity so I’m open to working alongside industry leaders to elevate and heal our collective consciousness. Innovating brands and products to make a difference in the world.

What are your “Top Five Ideas About How Influencers Can Monetize Their Brand” . (Please share a story or example for each.)

5 — Include a real network marketing opportunity into your brand. It needs to make sense for your niche and has to be legitimate. My network marketing company was the first within the industry to create a way for families and friends to support each other residually. And abolish fears surrounding abundance or lack of purpose. Since the products work and the community is becoming more diverse thanks to me, it’s reassuring that I’ve decided to include the company as part of my career journey. Last year we as a team made at minimum $80k in sales and it’s exciting to watch it grow organically and happily.

4 — Create a house or store pop up party. As a card reader and distributor of essential oils, I’ve monetized my influence by demonstrating my skills at intimate parties with prospective customers and clients. Nothing says fun and fortuitous like having a VIP get together to talk about ways to live your best self. Also this is great way to make your online connections more real.

3 — Write a book was on my must have list forever. It feels like a requirement at this point in order for others to recognize you as an expert. So having a book is great! But if you’re new and unknown, a book is a great business card or tool to bring into an interview and outshine the competition. Obviously, you want to sell the book. But in my experience it’s a great way to add value to your brand and career portfolio which in-turn adds to your overall worth.

2 — Pitch your brand to sponsors. There are bigger budgets out there and often if what you’re bringing to the table is hearty then encouraging others to invest or sponsor your work as an influencers becomes all kinds of extra. I was sponsored to attend a reality TV expo in LA and expand my network for future sponsorships. Be sure to make your pitches and proposals obvious in ways of targeting an audience and providing data to demonstrate evidence of your brand’s influence.

1 — Make more money through digital products and programs. Once you’ve earned your experience, you can leverage your knowledge by creating digital products like workbooks and classes to sell online. To double dip, you may want to teach in person and offer online access and keep that content if it isn’t already evergreen. I always found myself in my bedroom when I was younger, pretending to be a teacher. It was fun but I never realized the internet would make it possible to instruct people all over the world about my own passions and experience. Your own knowledge is important even if what you have to say is already out there somewhere, what’s different is how you reached these conclusions and learned these lessons. Every story is unique so be honest and share your message with monetization in mind.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this. :-)

Tyler Henry from Hollywood Medium. Why? Because he totally owes me breakfast in a past life. Seriously though, it would be fun to empower people to reconnect to their spiritual sides in Queer Eye sort of way. Netflix exec you holler at your boys here.

Amazon millionaire, author and business coach, Akemi Sue Fisher, has helped thousands of Amazon sellers scale and grow their businesses to six, seven and eight figures. She has quickly become one of the most trusted and sought after E-commerce consultants in the world. In only three years, her agency, Love & Launch, has helped her clients achieve over one billion dollars in sales through Amazon, Ebay and other e-commerce platforms. Her entrepreneurial spirit and direct approach continues to help elevate not only her success, but the success of her clients which range from startups to fortune 500 companies.