Jason Crossman’s Stories, Lessons & Insights

Jason Crossman shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Jason, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. When was the last time you felt true joy?
Many emotions are temporary. They pass as circumstances change, but joy is something deeper and more enduring. Happiness comes and goes, yet joy is a state of being.

I feel joy every day. It grows out of my relationship with God, where I find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. This relationship gives me the ability to face life’s hardships with equanimity, keeping my heart steady and my spirit at peace.

Other things in my life also bring me joy, and they, too, are rooted in relationships. My wife is my best friend and creative soulmate. Every moment with her challenges me to grow and helps me stay present in the moment.

My children are an incredible blessing. My daughter, who is 21, fills my life with joy and inspiration. My son, who is two, is full of wit and humor and keeps me laughing all day long.

The greatness of joy, and why it is truly our strength, lies in its power to lift us above our circumstances. Joy allows us to see every experience, both good and bad, as part of a greater story and to recognize the value each moment adds to our lives.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I founded Maiker Inc. along with my colleague and President, Scott Lambert, to help cities, regions, and brands tell their stories in ways that truly move people. After years of working across film, television, and global marketing, we saw a gap between creative storytelling and strategic growth. We wanted to build a company that could bridge that gap, a team that listens deeply, asks powerful questions, and helps clients move beyond the status quo into what we call quantum thinking.

At Maiker, we believe transformation begins with curiosity. We take the time to understand the heart of a place or a brand before we ever build a campaign. Our role is to help leaders see their potential in a new light and position their stories for impact that elevates communities and inspires investment.

We built Maiker around four core divisions: StoryMaiker™, FilmMaiker™, LuxuryMaiker™, and CityMaiker™. StoryMaiker focuses on uncovering the authentic voice behind every brand or city. FilmMaiker brings those stories to life through cinematic storytelling that captures both emotion and vision. LuxuryMaiker refines high-end brands with purpose and sophistication, while CityMaiker partners with cities and regions to showcase what makes them great, sparking tourism, talent attraction, and economic growth.

Our team’s collective experience includes Emmy and Grammy Awards, Hall of Fame Art Direction, and global campaigns for some of the most recognized names in entertainment, luxury, and development. Together, we’ve shaped stories that reach millions and strategies that reshape communities.

At the heart of Maiker is a simple idea: when you help people see what makes them unique and what can make them great, you unlock the power to change everything around them.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed what people thought about me mattered deeply. I don’t believe that anymore. Or at least, I’d refine it: what most people think about me is irrelevant to my story.

There’s a clear distinction between my neighbor’s opinion of my new car and my wife’s view of whether I’m patient, loving, and providing well. But the vast majority of people I once tried to impress (colleagues who aren’t my direct boss, neighbors with larger houses, competitors) don’t get to shape my path.

What matters most is what I think about myself. Did I do my best on my last project? Am I happy with how I feel about my body? Do I need to eat better, sleep more, focus on what matters, or quit procrastinating?

When I can answer yes to the questions that matter most to me, everyone else’s opinions become irrelevant. They can accept or reject me. Either way, I’ll keep improving and becoming the best version of myself.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
“I’ve never been someone who gives up. But have I wanted to quit? Absolutely. There were times I wanted to die just to escape the suffering. Those moments were always followed by standing up, brushing myself off, and remembering to be thankful for everything in my life. Gratitude is the enemy of failure.


This shifts how I view my experiences. They’re not win or lose. They’re win or learn. Everything works for my good if I’m willing to take the lessons and use them toward my goals.


Take the lemons and make lemonade. I wrote a book about it, coming out early next year through Morgan James Publishing, called “After Happily Ever After.” It’s a story of how I not only survived but thrived through the darkest years of my life.


There’s a verse in the book of James that seems impossible to follow, but it’s been a lifeline: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” The trials we face prepare us for the next level of blessing. That wisdom provides clarity in life’s struggles, showing us the distant shore and encouraging us to press on

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Without a doubt: family, faith, freedom, and the ability to follow my passions and create. Loving people ridiculously and leaving the world better than I found it. The things we value most stem from our sense of purpose.
When teaching at the New York Film Academy, I ask my film directing students to answer three questions before I let any of them direct a film.

First: What is your purpose? Not why are you here at film school, but why do you exist? Unlocking this answer leads to understanding in every other area of your life and reveals what will matter most to you. Purpose is the foundation.
Second: If you died today but could say three things the world would remember forever, what would those three things be? These are the pillars of meaning that extend from your purpose. They are your values.

Third: What are your dreams, and what are you willing to do to achieve them? The point of the dream isn’t the destination. It’s risking the safety and comfort of where you are now for the journey of becoming the person you need to be to fully enjoy the blessing of fulfilling your purpose. As the song says, “Life’s a journey, not a destination.”

What matters to you most will encourage you to keep going when you want to give up. For me, that’s my relationships with the people I love and who love me in return.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Doing things the same way I’m doing them now.

That’s what won’t pay off in seven to ten years. Because in a world of AI and global connectivity, standing still is moving backward. Your competitors aren’t the three companies down the street anymore. They’re everywhere.

Our lead financial consultant and author, Bruce Raymond Wright, taught me something that changed how I think about the future. In his book “Transcendent Thought and Market Leadership,” he talks about what he calls a quantum inquisition. Not just asking questions, but asking questions that shatter your assumptions about reality itself.

He demonstrates this with a quarter. He holds it up and asks, “How many sides does this coin have?” Everyone says two. The smart ones say three. Then he rotates it slowly. Look at the edge. Dozens of ridges, each with multiple sides. The raised sections for Washington’s face. Every nick, every scratch. The answer isn’t two or three. It’s dozens, maybe hundreds.

That’s the problem with status quo thinking. We see two sides because that’s what we’ve been conditioned to see. We answer the questions we’ve always answered, the same way we’ve always answered them. And we wonder why we can’t compete with people who see the whole coin.

At Maker Inc., we apply this approach to everything. What do our clients actually need, not just today but fifteen years from now? What questions aren’t we asking because we’re stuck in “this or that” thinking? How do we see all the edges?
The future belongs to people who ask better questions. And you can’t ask better questions until you realize you’ve been staring at a two-sided coin your entire life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maikermarketing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasondcrossman/

Image Credits
Nasser Haider Siddiqui, LT Chang, Jon Joffin