Terry Ilous's (XYZ, Great White) Life Journey - The Last Couple Of Years
Posted By: Michael Stephens
Original Video Release: July 26, 2012
Bending Reality Published: September 04, 2025
Terry Ilous's (XYZ, Great White) Life Journey - The Last Couple Of Years
TRANSCRIPT Terry Ilous: It's been an interesting journey.
When I first met Michael,
I was looking for something in my life.
I was to a point where
I was looking for direction in a way. He approached me and he talked to me about self-sabotaging myself
so many times.
I told him very honestly, it's a big thing for me.
I wanted to achieve so many things in my life and sometimes I was just about to get them.
Then something inside of me, a little voice,
would just say, you can't do it.
You can't do it. It's not going to happen.
You're not good enough.
There's all kinds of excuses so
I would not reach my goal.
I would miss out on a great opportunity to achieve something else.
Michael had talked about that.
I worked with him for a while over the phone
and when he came to Los Angeles, when we met in Vegas,
he helped me in a way to overcome that self-sabotaging issue.
I have to say that two years later, I'm looking at my life
and things have changed a lot.
I'm much more confident.
I have achieved much more in the last two years.
I feel much more confident.
I've joined the band called Great White.
I'm the lead singer of the band Great White.
We've been touring non-stop.
Lots of shows, a new album, lots of press.
It's looking good.
It's looking good.
The self-sabotaging thing is a very scary thing I think.
Growing up, I remember,
hearing from someone in my family, I can't name the person to protect the guilty.
My family used to tell me all the time,
you're not going to be able to achieve that,
you're not going to be able to do this. You're kind of a loser.
The person would say that in a very, I mean they were not to cruel about it.
They were just making a joke.
It got into me to the point where I stopped believing at one point.
Still, I had the fire inside of me to achieve things, to go somewhere.
I was never that loser guy
I just had that fear inside of me that I would not be able to achieve what I wanted
because there was always a little voice inside.
I would say, you're not good enough, you can't do it.
Somebody else is better than you.
Are you kidding? You're going to be the one, no way.
I've thought that all my life.
It's amazing that, to be honest with you, I have achieved what I have achieved in my life.
I'm not a superstar, I don't mean by that in a very pretentious way.
It's amazing that I have achieved what I have done
because I grew up in an environment that was kind of negative toward me,
positive because people loved me, but negative because I heard someone all the time telling me you're not good enough. You're this and this and this and this.
It got to me and a few times I was just about to what we call hitting the jackpot.
Getting in a situation that would be really wonderful for me.
Of course, I'm referring to music, of course.
A few times and some reasons I just always said
it ain't going to happen. It can be you.
I suffered that. I mean, really, it's something that I had to deal with.
Then when I met Michael, I told him about that and he said,
well, I can help you. He did.
I mean, I'm not cured 100%. I think nobody's ever cured 100%,
but I think the little voice will always be inside of me,
except now the little voice is getting silent.
It's very different. Now when I hear that little voice is all good enough, you can't do it.
Well, guess what? I tell the little voice to shut up.
I say, no, I can't do it. It's going to be me.
It's going to be me.
I chant a lot. I'm a Buddhist. I chant and look for directions.
But I believe no. It's going to be me. It's going to be my call.
I'm the one for the job. I believe in that.
As of before, I would say, you know, there's so many great singers in the world.
You know what? There are a lot of great singers in the world.
God bless them all.
But, you know, if they did it so can I.
So that's what I have to say about my little journey.
The last few years I've achieved a lot, I think.
Lots of touring, lots of shows, better money in my life.
I'm not exactly where I want to be yet.
I want more and more and more. I want better.
Why? Because I'm someone that likes success.
I want higher goals. I want better in life in general.
For myself and for the people around me.
Because I like to share the wealth. I think it's important to help others as well.
So if I'm there in life, I can help more people.
I can help myself. So if I'm there one day, then I can help more people as well.
So its been a long journey.
And that's it.
I remember one day that... I remember the one day a couple of years ago, a band called me.
I can't name the band and they were looking for a singer.
It's a rock band, well known rock band.
And I said, okay, I'll do it. I'm the right guy for the band.
I was so happy about it. And then the next day they called me and said,
I'm not the right guy for the band. We've changed our minds.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It was a pretty weird and rude situation to be honest with you.
And I talked to Michael about that. And Michael said to me,
I remember talking to him on the phone for about 30 minutes, seriously.
And the conversation went like Michael was trying to tell me,
let me see what's going on. So he was trying to channel something and he said, it's not about you Terry this time around It's about them.
They have something going on and it's not about you. You did everything right.
What I suggest is, is for you to think about what you really want in life.
I told him, I said, I want success. I want this. He says, okay
now you really feel it. I said, yeah, I said, no, I don't think you're feeling it yet.
See yourself there.
I said, okay, I'm seeing myself there. See yourself on stage.
I'm seeing myself on stage. I'm seeing myself on stage. I'm seeing myself talking to the crowd.
I'm seeing the TV, the shows. Blah, blah, blah.
He said, if you can feel it, not just think about it, but feel it, then it's going to happen. The universe is going to send it to you. And you're going to create it as well.
Well he told me, he said, I guarantee you that within a couple of weeks somebody else is going to call you.
And I remember I was a bit skeptical to be honest with you I was thinking, is this guy full of shit or what?
Or did I hit the jackpot with him? I'm thinking, whoa.
I mean, I'm rather be honest with you guys, you know, because, you know, I say, I second guess everything that's my nature.
So I said, maybe he's full of shit. Maybe he's not. I don't know. Sorry, Michael.
But I decided to believe. I said no I'm going to believe. I'm going to believe and I'm going to see it.
Two weeks later, I go on vacation. I go to La Jolla, California. It's a very true event, check this out.
I go to La Jolla, California. I'm about to go swimming.
And there's a sign that says, no swimming today. There were a great white shark that was actually swimming.
They caught, they didn't catch the great white, but true story, the great white was swimming in La Jolla.
It was August 12th, August 11th, 2010. You can look it up on Yahoo by the way.
So I'm thinking, this is, God, I'm coming to La Jolla to swim and there's a great white shark.
That's bullshit. So I go back to my hotel. Okay. I go back to my hotel, check my messages.
And there's a message from Mark Kendall. And it says, Mark Kendall, Great White.
True story. So I'm thinking, wow, that's pretty weird.
So I don't answer right away okay I'm on vacation. And then I see another text message, Great White Mark Kendall.
And I'm thinking Great white Mark Kendall and there's a great white over there. That's kind of weird.
So I answered the text and he said, well, we're having an issue with our singer and could you replace him for just a little while until he gets well.
And I said, yeah, of course, what a great great opportunity. And it's going to be a lot of fun.
Those guys are great musicians and it's a great band. And then I went on from sitting in for a few shows to actually joining the band.
But I remember calling Michael about that. I said, dude you'll never believe that.
I mean, I just got the phone call. He said, I told you, within two weeks you're going to get a better opportunity than the band that actually called you two weeks prior.
And it's true because the band that called me, I mean, I'm not going to name them. I can't.
But just to let you know that what he told me was true. And I'm here today, two years later to tell you that.
TAGS: Bending Reality TV™, TV, Michael Stephens,
Terry Ilous, Interview, Hispanic TV, Reality TV,
Self Sabotage, Success, Los Angeles, Great White Shark, Great White Band, La
Jolla California, Music, Music Business, Touring, Media, Rock News, Life
Coaching, Spiritual Coaching, Singers, Hearing Voices, Chanting, Buddhist,
Swimming, Mark Kendall, Las Vegas,
