Bold Journey Interview
https://boldjourney.com/meet-ren-2/
We were lucky to catch up with Ren recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ren, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My work ethic comes from my father. He’s always been a hard worker, and he instilled those values in myself and my siblings.
My dad went to work right out of high school. He worked at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Sugar Land for a while. He stayed at home and saved up to afford a house, met my mom, and had us kids.
After we were born, he went back to school. He worked during the day and took classes at night and worked up to an MBA. I think it’s crazy that he did all that work and yet I still have so many fond memories of him playing with us kids- even when he was exhausted, he made time and had energy for us. If I hadn’t been told, I never would have known! I’m very proud of him.
He’s shown me what it means to put your nose to the grindstone. When I’ve felt overwhelmed and thought about how easy it would be to give up or stop trying- at school, at work, or with my music- I remember who I came from and get right back on the horse.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Im a singer/songwriter from Sugar Land, TX. I’ve played local shows and open mics in the DFW area. Recently, my friend and fellow musician Jordan Jones and I have teamed up to play jazz/lounge covers at local cafes and wine bars! You can check out my website for more info and to catch our next performance.
My personal style leans more toward folk/pop, so this jazz adventure has been a wonderful challenge! I also stepped into the electronic pop world last October with my single “Risk”, a project I worked on with a good friend of mine, Dungeon Master tm.
Along with the jazz shows, I am working on another single to be released later this year. This one comes back to my country/folk roots, with all the terrible puns and catchy melodies that have become a signature of mine! I’m super excited to share it with the world.
Lately I’ve been shifting my focus from performing original music to writing. Songwriting is much like a therapy session- you learn a lot about yourself and you challenge yourself to see life from different points of view. It takes a lot of vulnerability, but from that vulnerability comes art that is so beautiful and that hopefully touches the souls of those who listen.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The top three skills/qualities that impacted my journey the most were: consistency, determination, and a positive attitude. Having the drive to create is great, but you need to also show up every day. Even on days you don’t feel like you can accomplish anything. And it’s easy to get bogged down- seeing people write and perform music at a level you feel like you’ll never get to can be discouraging! But keeping a positive attitude and reframing (like adding “yet” to an “I’m not at that level” thought) can keep that fire lit.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
As an artist, I find that sometimes the creative projects I want to take on seem bigger and far more daunting when I get to the starting line. Suddenly, the big idea I had is a little too big, and I can see the widening gap between my abilities and what I want the finished product to be, and I feel defeated before I even begin.
The best way I’ve found to combat this is by breaking things down into smaller pieces and tracking my progress. It helps calm the feeling of overwhelm, and looking back on my progression gives me encouragement to keep moving forward!
