I find giving yourself time to practice self-care in whatever capacity is paramount to living a balanced life. Things can move very quickly and sometimes slowly being a member of a creative field, so it’s good to keep yourself busy with things you’ve always loved doing. Slowing down can be hard, but simple things like contacting old friends and setting aside time for meditation has helped me stay grounded and maintain order in my life.
As a part of my series about “Grit: The Most Overlooked Ingredient of Success” I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Cola.
Adam Cola is a singer, songwriter, dancer and activist originally from Montreal, Canada who champions individuality. By living his truth through his craft he hopes to be a beacon of light for people who struggle with self-acceptance and empower them on their journey of shamelessly embracing all parts of their identities. Cola lives in Los Angeles and enjoys living an active lifestyle. He also is an active ally to the BLM movement and enjoys giving back by volunteering regularly with organizations such as Dogs Without Borders and JQ LA.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what events drew you to your specific career path:
I grew up in a small town in Quebec, Canada. It was a tight-knit community where everyone knew each other. I was always known for being particularly animated. I was and still am actually shy at first, but my best friends and family got to see the performer within me come out early in life. I had a love for the arts for as long as I can remember. My idols growing up were Justin Timberlake, Usher and Michael Jackson (to name a few). It’s crazy that I’m now pursuing a career similar to these larger-than-life characters I looked up to. Now I have the privilege to express my individuality and tell stories through music and dance.
Can you share your story about “Grit and Success”? First can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
Moving to the USA to peruse my music career was a big feat for me. It was scary. I have no family in LA, and had only been here once. I knew that being in LA was the only way I’d be able to truly make it so I took a leap of faith and found success in my music through being in LA.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Through dedication, determination and drive I stuck through the hard times of being homesick and missing my family to achieve success in my music career. It was worth it though because I made it happen for myself.
So how did Grit lead to your eventual success? How did Grit turn things around?
Now with over 1 million streams, I think my dedication to my craft through grit has allowed me to find success as an artist.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 pieces of advice about how one can develop Grit? (Please share a story or example for each)
- Never Give Up: I wanted to move back to Montreal to be with my family in times of weakness at the beg
- Celebrate Wins Along the Way; I find that celebrating little wins along the way helps you stay focused and inspired to keep on moving.
- Practice Balance: While staying focused to meet your goal is important, so taking care of your mental health. This can be done by working out.
- Manage Time Well: They don’t say, time is money for nothing. Being able to manage time is key to finding success and meeting goals.
- Seek Support When Overwhelmed: You are not alone. Seeking social support and asking for help is an important strategy for finding success.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you when things were tough? Can you share a story about that?
“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl made a strong impact on me. The book is narrated from the experience of renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl during his life as a prisoner under the Nazi regime. It strikes a particular chord in me given that my grandparents are Holocaust survivors. It’s a story about spiritual survival and the innate human quest for meaning.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’ve recently worked with Movember https://us.movember.com/about/foundation and through using my social channels I was able to raise $500 for the cause which was great.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
On December 4th I launched my single, Make Your Mark. I;’ll be releasing a new music video soon also. Lastly, I’ll be launching my debut record in 2021. I hope my feel good music will help other find happiness this year. I know it’s been a tough one.
What advice would you give to other executives or founders to help their employees to thrive?
I find giving yourself time to practice self-care in whatever capacity is paramount to living a balanced life. Things can move very quickly and sometimes slowly being a member of a creative field, so it’s good to keep yourself busy with things you’ve always loved doing. Slowing down can be hard, but simple things like contacting old friends and setting aside time for meditation has helped me stay grounded and maintain order in my life.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would inspire a movement built on anti-ignorance regarding people of different backgrounds, whether that be genetics, sexual orientation or social status. Bullying, hate-speech and discrimination is still very much alive in the world and it needs to end now.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” — Dr. Seuss. This is a powerful quote that continues to guide me every day. Growing up, I struggled with intense feelings of inadequacy in my identity. Fear of how we are perceived by others can diminish our feelings of self-love — which is invaluable, and in my experience, can only come from within.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Instagram — www.instagram.com/adamcolamusic
Facebook — www.facebook.com/adamcolamusic
Twitter — www.twitter.com/adamcolamusic
Singer, Songwriter, Dancer & Activist Adam Cola: Five Ways To Develop More ‘Grit’ was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
