We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kéo The Artist a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kéo, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
I think we spend about 90% of our time worrying about things that either haven’t happen or will never happen. We can be our own worst enemy or biggest advocate. Which sounds cliché, but it really is true that we create our own reality. I think being optimistic allows for the capacity to ask ourselves “what if everything goes wrong?” And also ask “what if everything ends up better than I can even imagine?”
What’s easy is to be fearful to a point where no action is taken. What’s harder is to feel the fear, do it anyway and learn something through the process. So my optimism is I think just the ability to zoom out of my own perspective, not see life through a straw and let myself dream past my own lived experience which is limited to a certain degree.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
There’s so much to share I’m not sure where to start. I’m a lesson in self-forgiveness. I’m a case study in letting go of what’s been and utilizing my wounds by turning them into wisdom. I could share with you all my accolades, professional accomplishments, and how I got here. But I think what’s more important to know is that I’m a work in progress, just like every other human on the planet. I’m currently learning what it looks like to expand beyond my inherited or conditioned belief systems and allow myself to discover what “freedom” looks like. Whether it be through creativity, relationship, love, or anything in between,
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1) Understand that the only real currency that exists in our lives is time. So instead of thinking about investments or effort put into something in the form of an amount, think about it in terms of time. Ask yourself “what will this bring me in a year from now?” We are flippant of the time we give away to things all the time, which ends up creating this ideology that we have more than we do. That’s not to say time isn’t a man made concept, but we do have a limited time in this life and in these bodies. So being more intentional with where we’re spending it and with who can help with more discernment and precision in how we operate.
2) People over profit. Instead of asking to “pick someone’s brain” who is in the position or at the level that you want to be at, offer them something in exchange for their time. Asking someone for their time or expertise in what took them years to understand in exchange for a free coffee doesn’t cut it. If you know you don’t have anything that could equate to what they’d charge someone for their knowledge, offer a helping hand in their sessions. Or offer to walk their dog. Offer value and don’t ask for more in return than whatever you’re giving. People and relationships will get you so much further than a one off paycheck, so don’t step on other people to get a quick pay out. Maintain relationships for the long haul. If your objective is to make it to the top, without long term relationships, it’s real lonely.
3) Learn how to write an email, make an invoice properly and organize your files in a way that’s simple and easy to understand. Sounds really silly and small. But these “unsexy” things are actually what separate the big players from the small time people. The infrastructure behind the scenes is what will carry you over time, more than fame, clout or social currency. It’s what people don’t see that makes a huge difference.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
There are so many lol
I’m going to list a few.
1) “Essentialism” by Greg McKweon. Basically this book is all about saying “no” to things we don’t care about and “yes” to less things, but the things we say yes to actually being authentically where we’re called to be.
2) “The Gift” by Edith Eger. In this book, Edith talks about being a Holocaust survivor and how the prisons we create in our minds are stronger and more fortified than any man-made prison will ever be.
3) “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin. A lot of creatives would benefit from this book as well as people looking to expand their consciousness. There are a lot of great little nuggets of wisdom in this book.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.keotheartist.com/
- Other: tel:6713202032
Image Credits
Juliette Carman, Timothy Kwon
