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Hello, friends. Welcome back to a solo episode of the Dream Life Club podcast. This podcast is where we share insight and inspiration for creatives chasing a dream. So if that's you, let's lock in. My name is Sumi and my story is that I built and sold a 200 person government consulting company in D.C. and then built a whole new dream which was to be a pop music artist. And I'm now doing that in la. I want to talk to you guys today. I was thinking about what to share and I thought, you know, I really feel like a lot of people are going through a season of discouragement right now, and it's so crazy to break through on the Internet, which is kind of what we're all told that we have to do in order to be successful as a creative. The algorithms are getting harder to place. The competition is, you know, just everywhere now. AI artists are popping up out of nowhere and taking over Spotify. And it feels like, you know, we put all of this effort and attention and energy and creativity toward making content to try to stand out. And then like, you know, most of our audience that we've spent years building doesn't even see that piece of content. And it can feel and can get really discouraging and honestly depressing for many creatives who really. What do we want to do? We don't want to be doing any of that marketing to begin with. Right? We just want to be creating. Like, I had this moment yesterday where I'm like sitting in my living room and I. I just fixed my record player, which was. Thank God I did that. I don't know why I didn't do that earlier. And I put on one of my favorite records. You know, I used to be a trumpet player and I put on Miles Davis Kind of Blue and. And that's just one of my favorite records. It just puts me in a mood, like a beautiful flow state almost where everything else goes quiet. And this, you know, gorgeous record from 1959 with all of the crackling and everything. I just, I was sitting there and I was sitting there on the floor. I don't know if this is like an adh, ADHD thing or what, but I, I hate chair. Like, I, I hate chair. I. Tell me if you relate to this at all, but I'm like sitting there on the floor listening to this record and leaning up against the wall and I was looking out, you know, out my front door, out the windows, at all the trees, and I, I just have this moment where I'm like, I just want to like, crawl up like under this table and just listen to beautiful music all day and like, like escape, you know, into a little happy place and, and not have to deal with all of the buzz and the marketing and the advertising and the trying to break through and the administrative aspects of building a creative dream. And like, the stuff that I feel like is probably even harder for those of us with creative hearts and creative souls. Like, it. It's even harder to put on that left brain logical hat and like, have to take care of stuff that seems so frustrating because it doesn't take it. It's like for me, that side of things feels like, well, anyone can do this. Like, this is not, you know, like, it's the creativity that's from the soul, that's from me, that only I can do. Like, why do I want to spend my time working on marketing? Which like, anyone could do, you know? But here's. Here is the point of this episode. It's not to complain. It's. It's not to say, yeah, this sucks. It's not to tell ourselves that AI is going to take over the industry, because none of those things are true. What's true is that we all have the capacity to use our creativity in so many different directions. And not only that, our creativity is actually the fuel that's going to allow us to get creative with. With how we approach all of those aspects of our creative careers. Right? Like, we don't have to. You know what I hate the most is all. All of this advice coming at us on social media right now. Like, every third post that I see on my feed is some guru or marketing expert or, or, you know, email marketing expert or music industry insider or, you know, coach for creatives, telling us how to do what we have to do to win, to succeed. And that irritates me like nothing else because the whole point of being creative is that we don't follow a freaking formula. Like, I remember Tony Robbins put out this hilarious training like years ago. I remember seeing it. I couldn't stop thinking, like, how stupid is this? It literally the title of the training was Blueprint for creativity. Like seven step blueprint to unlock your creativity. Or so. Like, it was just like so wild to me because I'm like, blueprint for creativity is inherently an oxymoron. I don't know. Like, I just find that we try to attack. And then the problem is so many of us creatives are desperate for some sort of tangible success in the industry right now that we end up. And I'm speaking For myself, maybe you relate spending hours, wasting hours being like, oh, yeah, maybe I need this training. Let me see what this guru has to say. Let me see what this marketing expert has to say. And while I think some of that is good, like, we do need to obviously understand the industry, understand social media, understand competition, understand what makes a post get more attention because we do want to get our music out there. But the trap is that we end up consuming all of this advice and quote, unquote information, I. E. Most likely just somebody's opinion on something, that we lose our spark, right? And then it feels so draining and it feels like such a drag to do any of this stuff because it's not filled, it's not inspired, it's not coming from our souls. It's coming from some guru online that told us this is how to create a viral post. And I think one of the most important things for us as artists is that we keep our creativity applied to the other aspects of our career. And I think one of the most important that, hands down, like, if we think of our growing our careers that way, that is going to be a game changer. We don't need another advice article. We don't need another formula. We don't need another coach telling us how to go viral. We don't need any of that. What we need is our own creativity, our own soul's guidance on what we should do next on how to market this song, not relying on, quote unquote, social media experts. All of us fall into this trap. In fact, I fall into this trap quite a bit. It's like, oh, somebody has a really good idea. Lots of people are going to have really good ideas. But if somebody has a really good idea, that doesn't mean that that idea is better than your idea. Your idea is probably better because it's coming from you and it's related to the art that you're making. And that's the whole point of your art, right? So there are two words that I think will transform your career if you let it. Okay? Because all of us face these discouragements. All of us face these moments of feeling like giving up. All of us face these roadblocks. All of us face these moments where we're like, I've been working so hard for. For what results? Looking around, looking at some of the artists that are breaking out, that are breaking through and thinking, well, you know, like, why not me? Like, I've been, you know, I've been working just as hard and I think my music is just as good and you know, it's so easy to get down on ourselves. And so I'm going to give you right now two words that will save your career. And I want you to write them down. I want you to even get them tattooed on your body if you would like. In fact, one of my friends just did that. And the two words have saved me many times and they are so simple, but they are profound. And those two words are keep going. Keep going. Success is never a straight line. And this is something I've learned through all my years of entrepreneurship. I've been building ideas since I was 19 years old. Multiple businesses, multiple things. The key has always been keep going. I remember in 2020 when I was in the middle of wanting, needing my, I, needing to sell my company. And you know, when you're selling a company, first of all of that size, we had 200 employees. We were entrenched in the government contracting industry. There is paperwork, so many, like stacks of rules and regulations and the due diligence that a buyer has to do on a company like that, the, the, even the accounting principles themselves that you have to adhere to and then all of the various intricacies of each and every contract and each and every nuance. It's, it's, it's, it's more due diligence than you can probably wrap your mind around in this moment. And we had gone through this whole long process of years talking to multiple advisors, then finally, you know, signing up with a company that was going to help take us to market and then getting multiple Lois letters of intent to, of, of companies interested in looking at our company, which then we had to open up our books and we had to allow every potential, potential buyer to do their due diligence, which is a long process where they go through every, all of the accounting, they go through all of the contracts, they go through all of the paperwork, they go through all of the legalese, they go through all of the projections and you know, do their due diligence to basically figure out whether their, this company is worth what they wanted to pay for it, what they offered in their loi and how to negotiate from there. And you know, it can be a really draining process because just getting all that information to each of those potential buyers is a full time job in and of itself. And you don't want to open up your company to anybody else to do that for you. Right? Because when you're going through an intensive sales process like this, you keep it private, you don't announce it, you don't Let people know before it's time about what's going on. And so I basically working two full time jobs at the time, right? Running the company and managing the sale. And I remember having, I was, you know, like, I ended up having to fly to Colorado and then fly to Florida and I was having a conversation with a partner in Florida and it was one of those moments where I remember walking out and taking a break. It was a long, like six hour conversation and I took a break and I was going for a walk and I, I called, you know, a close, a close mentor of mine and I was just kind of like venting because it had been so draining and so exhausting. And honestly, I was at the point where I was wanting to give up because it, it was almost, we were actually so close to the finish line. But it was one of those moments where I couldn't see the forest for the trees, right? Like I couldn't see the light at the end of this dark tunnel. And I was so entrenched in the darkness and I was so over it and I was so drained and everything in my body was like screaming like, eff it. Just, this is not worth it. Like, just stop. Like, you know what, what you're doing is fine. You can keep running this company. It's fine. Do you really want to deal with all of this for that much longer? Like, forget it. Just let's go, go back to running the company, you know, because remember, I'm like now having two full time jobs instead of one and I'm just like, no, just, just give it up. Just stop. Just go back to your one job. You were fine. Nothing was terribly wrong. Meanwhile, something was terribly wrong. I was in an industry that my soul was saying, get out of this industry. Go do music. You've done, you've done this, you've experienced this. This is all you are meant to do in this field, right? Like you've learned what you need to learn. Now go do what has been calling you your whole life. Which music. And it's time. It's time, right? So if I had stayed and if I had pushed through this, it would have just been prolonging something that needed to have ended at that point. But I was so ready to just screw it and prolong it because I didn't want to deal with all of the effort that it took to take this to the finish line. And my mentor said to me on the phone during that walk, during that six hour meeting break that I was taking, he said, sue me. Keep going, keep going. Just keep going. And it hit me, and it's like, okay, I'm gonna keep going. Here we go. It's so simple. And often it's the most simple advice that changes our life. Right? It's. It's always actually the simplest little reframe that changes our trajectory, that gets us across the finish line, that reframes something for us, gives us a little bit of renewed energy. All I needed was that trusted person to say that to me for me to get back on the horse. And so thank God I did, because then, you know, it took probably another six months, maybe nine months from that point before everything was closed and finalized. But then that allowed me to make the massive move that I made to reinvent myself completely, to do a complete identity overhaul, from being this corporate girl in D.C. running a consulting company, to now being a creative, building a music career and having literally the most fulfilling experience that I've had in my life probably ever. And the same thing applies now. When I was sitting under my table. Yes. The other day, listening to Miles Davis and having that moment of like, oh, my God, like, is this worth it? Like, I hate this marketing shit. And those two words rang in my ear again. Sumi. Keep going. Because here's the truth, you guys. We can't always see how close we are to a breakthrough. We won't always see how close we are. Right? We. Because there's no way for us to know how close we are. We don't know how close we are. We hear stories that often. It's like when we. When it's the darkest out is when the light is just about to rise, right? Like, we hear stories that. Like that, you know, in our darkest moments, that means our breakthrough is right around the corner. But we don't ever have any proof when it comes to our new situations that we're in. All we can do is look back and think about our lives and see if we can find that evidence or for ourselves. And that's what I want to do for you today. I want to share with you a couple stories from my life. Right. And have you ask yourself to find a couple stories from your life that proves that if you're ready to give up, that light is right around the corner. That if you're in the. What feels like the hardest moment, it means you're about to encounter a breakthrough. It means that if you're sitting under your dining table wanting to throw it all away and just pursue your creative dream as a hobby, like, to keep going. Because we all face those moments Right. When a breakthrough is about to happen. And, like, I can think to myself that, like, wait, actually, I can actually see some proof right now that maybe some breakthroughs are about to happen, you guys. Like, in this moment when I'm having this panic, this feeling of like, I want to give up, I can then also think, like, wait a minute, Sumi, you might be on the verge of a breakthrough right now. Because think about it, you literally do. Two opportunities just popped up into my life and career in the past month that I think have the potential to completely change my trajectory if I don't give up. For example, and I don't know if I've shared this on the podcast yet, if you've been following me on Instagram and Facebook and if you've been on my email list, you might already know about this, but I performed my latest single, American Dream, on the new late night show, Make It a Good Night with Ben Gleb on July 1st. And that was such a freaking moment. I debuted American Dream on the new late night. Like, what? Late night is where you break artists. This happened. And I'm like, okay, that happened. How can I leverage that opportunity for all that it is, right? To keep building on that momentum? And then a week later, I get an email that says, sumi, your song American Dream was nominated for a Hollywood Independent Music Award, was nominated in the category of social impact song for a holiday Hollywood Independent Music Award. The awards gala is next Thursday, you guys, and I'm going to find out if we won by next Thursday. And either way, to be nominated is such an honor. So I'm sitting there under the table and. And I'm like, wait, there are. There are even signs right now that there is some crackling, there's some momentum building, right? Like maybe. Maybe there's a fire that's about to freaking ignite. Sumi, why are you even thinking that you could be on the verge of giving up? Right? And this is true for all of us. So I share this today because I believe in you. The world needs your art. We need art more than ever. Art is what connects us to humanity. Art is what connects us to each other. Art is what reminds us that we are human. And especially in the midst of all of this political chaos, sociopolitical chaos, technology innovation with AI, climate disasters, all of the things that are going on in the world right now, what do we need most? We need to come together. We need to be reminded of. Of our humanity. We need to be reminded of our shared humanity on this earth and on this planet and how do we do that is through art. Art is the most powerful way for us to connect to each other. So I'm sharing this candid message from my heart to your heart today to say keep going. Keep going. Do not give up now. Do not give up now. Think of one example in your past where you did keep going and it paid off. And then see if you can think of any evidence, any evidence, no matter how small, and write it down for your success right now, evidence of momentum building in your life and your creative career right now. And write it down. Put it on a sticky note. Put it on your laptop. Put it as a reminder on your phone. Write the words keep going on your arm. Keep going. Don't give up. We believe in you. I believe in you. And we need your art. Talk to you guys soon.