Meet Eric Mueller

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eric Mueller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Eric, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
The word resilience ignites a special feeling within me. I find myself instantly thrust back in time…into all of the memories that made me who I am today. I think about training through rain, mud, bitter cold, snow, and blistering heat as a cross country runner. I think about the all-day study sessions with my best buddies during pharmacy school to excel in our rigorous exams. I think about my parents. My parents instilling an invaluable mindset into the core of their son. The mindset that hard work always pays off. Always. Don’t believe me? Trust me, they are absolutely right. It does pay off. You might not, more so likely will not, see the fruits of your labors right away. That is the serendipitous reality.

Even as I type these words right now, I can feel deeply inside that I have yet to even begin to reap the rewards of my hard work. Think about resilient hard work as a silent investment into the “you” fund. You’re consistently making deposits into the appreciating asset that is you when you’re striving towards a goal with hard work. In my opinion, you cannot lose with this method. Your hard work WILL pay off. It is just a matter of time. You won’t fully understand how or why it pays off in the way that it eventually will for you, but I promise you that you will see this happen. Look at the people who have achieved greatness in this life 5, 10, 15, 25, or 50 years after they began their resilient quest to stand out. Actions speak louder than words. Go get it done!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My thoughts of creating a personal brand identity began to really gain steam during my final year of pharmacy school in the spring of 2020. I had been interested in entrepreneurship four years prior, but I could sense my vision for fulfilling that interest was changing. I felt compelled to build something around myself that was separate from my traditional training and degrees. This feeling led to the creation of The Eric Mueller Show, the podcast that explores what makes any successful person’s inner clock tick by unlocking the most impactful tools within their Success Portfolio. Today, the show is in its third year with 74 episodes and counting.

In summer 2023, I discovered an opportunity to begin building an extension of my personal brand. I currently live in a beautiful apartment complex in downtown Rochester, Minnesota that often hosts events for the residents and hires DJs to provide music. It was a rainy Cinco De Mayo evening this past spring, and guess what? The DJ didn’t show because of the weather. Boom. Light bulb went off. I told my property management that I would run upstairs to my apartment, grab a speaker, and bring the music to the party. This quickly led to a conversation later that evening where I proposed to become the resident DJ for any future events. To my delight, they were highly interested! EMU Productions was born, and DJ EMU was set to debut at The Maven’s Labor Day Party four months later.

I have had a passion for music my entire life. I initially learned to play trombone in the sixth grade and then went on to play a combination of trombone, sousaphone, and baritone in my high school marching, concert, field show, and jazz bands. One Christmas I asked my parents for a drum set which I self-taught to play along with my favorite rock songs. I’ll be honest, I was an avid player of the video game Rock Band during this time, which I attribute to learning the basics of drumming. While I was at St. Olaf College, I developed a love for electronic dance music (EDM) after many locker room jam sessions with the cross country and track & field teams. This genre continued to captivate my mind and led to my desire to learn DJing and music production. Recently, I founded EMU Productions, an umbrella company to house DJ EMU and The Eric Mueller Show. My brands boast purple in their colors, my favorite color and a nod to my hometown state of Minnesota and the Minnesota Vikings.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Persistence, consistency, and compassion. These three qualities have been directly connected to the achievement of many meaningful goals in my life thus far. How do you train to compete in an 8-kilometer cross country race at the collegiate level? Consistency in logging mileage. How do you connect with the CEO of a company that you want to work for? Persistent outreach. How can you make the best first impression on a new friend or colleague? Compassionate kindness. I firmly believe that anyone can achieve great things in this life by being persistent in their efforts, consistent in their work ethic, and compassionate in their words and behaviors. Do not give up!

My parents taught me to be nice at a young age. This invaluable lesson has created opportunities far beyond what I could imagine. Kindness is truly an untapped advantage. You never know who you are interacting with, and there are many factors out of your control in life. What you can control is how you behave towards others. Be nice. I promise it will pay you back two-fold. Today, my parents continue to motivate me to become the best version that I can be through persistent and consistent effort towards my goals. I feel incredibly fortunate for their compassionate belief in me, and I hope I never take their lessons for granted. I am so thankful for them.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents. Christine and Jeffrey Mueller. Mom and Dad. These two human beings are my rocks in this life. They are there for me during every moment of happiness, sadness, jubilation, triumph, and hardship. They have been there to help me move from Minnesota to Oklahoma to Iowa and back to Minnesota again. They are my idols. I can only hope to become as impactful and influential as a parent to any future children God blesses me with.

Mom and Dad, this article is a tribute to you. I love you. You have taught me the importance of kindness, respect, integrity, and perseverance. Thank you for always reminding me that hard work pays off, that being nice to strangers is worth it, and that being happy is the most important mission in life. You have taught me that I can be anything I want to be. I believe you.

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