We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Adam Ramey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Adam , thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
You just have to harness your main character energy. Just know and understand; more importantly, BELIEVE that you were destined for this. It all starts and ends there. If you think you don’t deserve what you have now, it will leak into the frame of other people’s perception. How can anyone believe in you if you don’t yourself?
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I grew up in a trailer park very poor. My parents were rather young. I came from very modest means. I’m grateful for it because it gave me the grit and desire I needed to achieve what I have now. I was never really good at anything growing up, I also had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. But, when I closed my eyes, I would often envision myself on stage singing the songs I would listen to in front of huge crowds. That’s when I realized that’s the only thing I really wanted. However, I didn’t think it was realistic. I started playing drums when I got into high school. I took to it pretty well and was in a few bands throughout my high school career. Somewhere in that time I started learning how to sing and I got pretty good at it. I started singing in bands after high school. I was going to college for early childhood education and was a preschool teacher for a short time. I went on a vacation with some friends in Mexico and I had an assignment due. Everyone was partying and enjoying themselves, I was sitting there stressed out not wanting to do this assignment. This turned out to be a pretty pivotal moment for me in hindsight. I realized then I wasn’t happy and actually hated my life. I shut my laptop and never opened it again. I dove in to my music career after that heavily. I managed a gym for a while after that because they would hold my job for me while I toured. I also started learning a lot about marketing and advertising and in 2016 I started my band Dropout Kings. We came out in the public in 2018. It immediately took off and we began attaining a big popularity. In 2020, the pandemic hit, I was all of a sudden unemployed and also couldn’t tour. So basically, I couldn’t make money. I took a shot in the dark and launched my marketing agency PUSH Digital Marketing. Because at the time, artists and businesses relied heavily on online marketing, it was the perfect timing to start this endeavor. 3 years later, and my company has made over a 1m in gross revenue, and I have made my clients several million dollars.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Humility, kindness, and perseverance. Be patient and kind to yourself. Don’t be afraid to fail. That’s when you learn the most. Sucking at something is the first step in being good at something. It takes a lot of grit and courage to go through that process. Which is where most people give up.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I give myself 20 minutes max to let myself just feel my emotions and internalize them. After that period, I tell myself feeling those things no longer serves me, it’s important to let yourself feel those things for a time rather than bottling them up. It’s your body’s way of trying to tell you something. After that, I tell myself it no longer serves me and now it’s time to think of an action plan and solutions that WILL serve me to get myself out of whatever it is. The first law of thermodynamics is energy can’t be created or destroyed, just displaced. Taking that into account, Negative energy is still energy. You can take that, transmute it into positive energy, and make it into something that can push you forward in the direction you want to go.
Contact Info:
- Website: pushdigitalmarketing.com
- Instagram: @adam_ramey
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adam.ramey.71/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-ramey-016228289/
Image Credits
Sarah Carmody Photography Charlie Mumbles
