Sunshine, Magic and the Value of Optimism

Welcome back to another tl;dr of “Joseph Jaffe is Not Famous”, with your host, the not famous Joseph Jaffe! In the show, we talk to some pretty interesting and sometimes famous people about how they tackle their day-to-day, why they do what they do, and hopefully teach us a thing or two about leading life with a little more spring in our step.?

In this very special episode , I talked to Gilly the Sunshine Wizard aka Gilderoy Dauterive, our very own sunshine giver and part of my own daily video-watching routine. His Instagram and TikTok channels focus on different aspects of positivity, acceptance, and everyday magic that help you find a better perspective on your day-to-day lives. Throughout our discussion, we touched on what it’s like to be a creator focused on “non-conventional” content while also exploring how Gilly the Sunshine Wizard earned his robes,

Wisha Wisha! I love you!

Who is Gilly the Sunshine Wizard

Gilly the Sunshine Wizard, aka Gilderoy Dauterive, is a content creator focused on different short videos on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok that showcase the different kinds of magic we experience every day and how we can generate our own magic through the power of positivity, acceptance, and personal sunshine.

Apart from video creation, Gilly is also a published poet, writer, and beauty pageant winner. It’s through these different experiences that Gilly is able to bring smiles around the world (covering 6/7 continents to date!).

Key Episode Topics

Trusting the Value of Everyday Magic

A lot of our experiences happen for us, not to us. Gilly themselves saw this happen in real-time when they were inspired by a sign they saw that said: “You Are Loved”. Sometimes something as simple as a poster board can be incredibly moving in sharing a simple but profound idea about life.?

Gilly then realized that they can use social media as their very own “poster board”. Each of their videos focuses on easy everyday steps delivered in a short format for a quick reminder of your daily routine.?

As Gilly mentions, “you can get a poster board, write ‘You are Loved’ and I guarantee you you will make at least one person smile”.?

Embracing Your Own True Self

Very early on in Gilly’s life, they knew that they could be a wizard. Growing up as a “fat kid”, Gilly felt that there was a lack of representation in the media for people like them. “You get to either be the funny best friend or the cartoonishly gay villain”, Gilly reflects, “or you can be the Wizard”. It was this insight that allowed Gilly to begin their transformation into the Sunshine Wizard persona.

It’s the acceptance of the non-conventional and stepping out of the identities being imposed on you that you can truly begin embracing your true self and finding that sunshine that drives you forward.?

Living The Story of Your Own Life

There are a lot of different philosophies today that dictate how you should think, act, and feel. But Gilly finds a different route espoused by Jean-Paul Sartre (expressed in Gilly’s trademark Wizard-y ways): “In this world nothing matters, you can do what you want, [so] if you have the opportunity to help people you should”.

Instead of viewing this as a downer way of thinking, Gilly discussed the potential of such a perspective to “turn the mundane and the mediocre into something magical”. A strong motivator for Gilly is their belief in the power of conversation and open positive dialogue. “Every life has a story”, they continue, “and we can shape the world one conversation at a time”.?

Being a Creator Today

Today’s social media landscape is full of eye-catching content and other media that are meant to grab our attention. But Gilly’s short videos focus not on clickbait news headlines but rather messages of joy and positivity that radiates with their many followers (over 100,000 now on Instagram alone).?

Their viral video (originally listed under “Mutton Choppa Poppa”), “You’ll be the Sunshine”, was actually inspired by a conversation they had with a close friend who was feeling down. It’s these everyday interactions that make Gilly’s content so relatable as it speaks towards simple yet powerful daily reminders about the sunshine sources in your life.?

This also goes to show that authenticity still plays a big role in creator content success. Much of Gilly’s work is focused on their own personal anecdotes and perspectives, which resonate with like minded viewers looking for that type of content. Without a truly authentic brand image (that stands out the way Gilly’s does), you’ll likely have difficulty finding that audience that’s right for you.?

Much has been discussed beyond the key takeaways above, including ideas Gilly shared on accepting the different emotional states you might find yourself in (affectionately described as “mads, rads, and sads”), non-neurotypical thinking, and self-identity in today’s world.

Catch the rest of the Gilly the Sunshine Wizard episode here and keep an eye out for other possibly famous people in the next edition of Joseph Jaffe is Not Famous!

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