We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Martin Espino a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Martin with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My father was a hard worker and although he never said a word about his ways. Just remembering how he took care of things, learned new things always strived to be better. When he didn’t know something, he went to the library and researched and learned what he had to. I work like him, pretty much non-stop always doing something, always active.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am particularly focused on things having to do with ancient Mexican culture, particularly music, culture and history. I want to know about my ancestors. I recently learned that I am a little over 60% indigenous northern Mexican. The other part of my make up I have no interest in. My ancestral connection has influenced the way I eat, the ancient philosophers’ words have influenced my view and attitude on making my life better. I dress in ancient attire as a performer/cultural educator and when I am not doing that, I am still wearing something ancient, some bracelet, some necklace, some design….I carry it with me….I’ve learned a peace that I teach others: you just don’t stop at your grandparents, we all go back thousands of years. We often teach ourselves to disconnect because our ancestors are not alive and existed in the past BUT what they did is why you are here, you survived! It’s why you like certain foods, it’s why you look how you to look…..be proud of that connection and carry with you out into the world, it’s who you are. I guess that’s my brand….is who I am
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?
Optimisim, Hard work and Open mindedness have had there biggest impact on my work, art and life. Everyone should have these qualities as a bedrock of their personality. These items are like the steps of a ladder, they help raise up higher. The more you work on these qualities, the more these qualities grow bigger and lift you higher! No matter what others do to you, say to you, no matter what you experienced in your childhood, you do have buildings block within your minds and hearts to totally be yourself and say no to the negative and live th positive….only you can drag yourself down and although someone might help you pick your head up, in the long run it is you who lifts yourself up.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
There is not one person that I know of who has all these qualities and power to guide me, rather it was separate people and I can name them: I was lucky for parents who were very loving and allowed me to be myself. My high school art teacher helped me with personal decisions with my career., how to carry myself as an artist and how to not give in bad experiences and bad people. I have several close friends that grew up with me and we are all artists, we all stay in contact and always talk about our lives. The ;public that loves my work inspire me, by being there, they can often see the message I am trying to get across in my art. Then there’s myself and for my personal development I thank having had the influence of a meditation program that was on TV when I was 11 years old. The show never explained itself. they just did meditation and yoga and I imitated it and found it helped me. Because of that I;ve been meditating since age 11. It has helped my do lots of things and has seen me through very hard times!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.martinespino.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/martin.espino.music
- Facebook: Facebook.com/martinespinomusic
- Youtube: YouTube.com/martinespinomusic
- Other: electraaztecamusic.wixsite.com/contact
Image Credits
Martin Espino
