Meet John Griggs

We recently connected with John Griggs and have shared our conversation below.

Hi John , thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
My optimism comes from a lot of places, with it mainly being a balance of overcoming past experiences and my faith in God. In my honest opinion I feel that as long as you’re alive there’s always a reason to be optimistic. To some that isn’t enough, but for me that’s everything. Especially when I find myself facing obstacles. A motto I stand by is “there’s always more”. Every time I thought of giving up or moving around, the exact thing I was looking for would come into fruition. That taught me that I can’t give up too early, and just because one door is closed, that doesn’t mean all doors are locked. Faith helps because I realize that life is what you believe and manifest. If I accept defeat or any form of being pessimistic then I will continue to live there and that’s not the life I’ve envisioned for myself. So my optimism is my strength. It allows me to keep going, knowing that the end isn’t where I’m standing and there will always be more for me.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a multifaceted professional, but my main focus is my career as an artist manager, and how it allows me to fulfill my purpose of educating others on life and love.

I started Managing artist in 2015 and it’s been an amazing journey thus far. What I love about it is how it combines my love of music with my love of connecting with people. Music is truly a universal language so that helps, but being able to help artist elevate and connect with their dreams is extremely satisfying. Yes, there have been obstacles along the way but the rewards have drastically outweighed those.

The most exciting part of it all for me is the thrill of accomplishment. It’s knowing that we set out to do something and we succeeded. Rather that’s securing certain shows or festivals, touring, or securing the right brand partnerships it always manages to give me a rush.

A question that many have asked is how does being a manager of secular artist work with being a minister as well, but I always explain that I’m in the right place. I’ve never been one to push religion or any of my beliefs on anyone. I just exist authentically in every space that I am in and it’s does more than can be imagined at times. Existing genuinely is the lesson of love and life. Self love being the foundation that helps us love others that me meet in this life.

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?
I’d say understanding business, people, and music to some degree has helped me the most on my journey. All are equally important but if I had to rank them I’d say people first, business second, and unfortunately music to follow. People are first because understanding how others work helps you interact with them. Being aware of certain social cues is a skill that many don’t possess but desperately need. Understanding business because being someone’s manager places you in the mix of a lot of business decisions, and the last thing you’d want to do is make a costly mistake. The reason I say music last is because as a manager I don’t have to be a creative, my job is to trust the artist and deliver the product (them) to where it needs to be.

My advice to others along this journey would be to define what it is you truly want. Knowing that desire in detail makes it easier to define target points for you to work on. It’s great to be well rounded, however some skills may be more important than others at times. Also do this for the right reasons. The rewards many seek in music don’t come as fast as they might believe, and choosing to pursue a career in this space without knowing that will eventually expose you.

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?
Two books have played a big role in my development. One being “How to win friends and influence others” by Dale Carnegie. The other “All you need to know about the music Business”.

All you need to know about the music business is a bible of sorts. It speaks on everything from management to publishing and I’m student first. I believe in knowing all I can about the things I take part in.

How to win friends and influence people is great for understanding people and business. One statement of wisdom it left me with was “keep your mind on the things you like, and as you go you’ll seize them unconsciously”. This doesn’t mention friends nor does it speak on influence but it speaks to authenticity. That line leads to explaining how following your lane leads to others following you in due time. You win friends by being true to yourself and when you win by being yourself others will make attempts at being somewhat like you.

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Image Credits
John Zirker Trent Steele Will Lindsey

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