By now you have realized my interviews are not always with music industry folk but that they are with people that can give insight to building a career within the music industry. I believe that finding answers that can help build a lasting career in the music industry are quite often easier to find outside of the industry. The truth is artists are entrepreneurs and a lot can be learned from other successful entrepreneurs.
Today’s interview is with Rick Wells. Rick is a very successful entrepreneur, and now he is a successful actor. The interesting thing is that once he decided to become an actor he, almost overnight, was able to find acting work as well as an agent to represent him… Considering how many people spend years to get those opportunities, I was interested to understand more about Rick and how his past experiences have led him to where he is today. After getting to know more about Rick it became apparent that he has experienced a high level of success both financially and personally. The curious part was realizing what a wide variety of careers he had chosen and how at first they all seemed so wildly different. In fact there seemed to be almost no common thread between them. However, at a closer glance I realized that the common thread in fact was Rick’s approach, his ability to put himself out of his comfort zone and find ways to excel. He really summed it up when he told me that the reason he chooses to act is because he wants to feel uncomfortable. Rick shows once again that no amount of success can be achieved without a challenge and going beyond your comfort zone.
After interviewing many successful artists, entrepreneurs, authors, etc… after a while a number of similarities start to appear, from their personality traits to the environment around them. Alhough one of those traits is the ability to put yourself out of your comfort zone, the real question is what have been the experiences that build people up to not only recognize opportunities but to also risk taking them. What in Rick’s past experiences and development have allowed him to consciously choose to put himself in a place of vulnerability along way from his comfort zone? Not only once but many times over and excel?
Rick was adopted three days after birth and found out a lot later in life. He learned to make his living from commission (as he puts it, “eat what you kill”), he has an ability to build relationships that he can leverage in business, he understands that trust is a key part of business no matter what line of work you get into, he has 9 children, he has moved around with his work and currently resides near Nashville, he is a handsome 6,2 American looking man, he thinks carefully before he answers my questions… These are by no means the key elements that make up Rick but they certainly stood out to me… Listen to this interview and see what you can find. I believe that a lot can be learned from other people’s experiences and Rick certainly has had many!
Aaron Bethune. Music Specialist. Creative Collaborator.
www.playitloudmusic.com www.abovethenoise.ca @playitloudmusic
Interview with Rick Wells
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