Meet Jeremy Pelley

We were lucky to catch up with Jeremy Pelley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeremy, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is easy to describe but difficult to overcome, so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you dealt with it.

Buddha said, “What we think, we become.” Centuries later, author Kurt Vonnegut similarly said, “You become who you pretend to be.” So, given this, is the Buddha actually Buddha, or is he an imposter, pretending to be Buddha? Is Vonnegut a famous author, or is he an imposter, pretending to be one? Does it matter?

If we’re being real, I don’t think imposter syndrome is something that anyone ever overcomes. If we’re lucky and have courage, I think we learn to dance with it. Our best bet is to realize that everyone is an ‘imposter’ to some degree, and everyone is just doing their best to figure it out. We have to love ourselves through it.

And if we are really being real, it might actually be detrimental to believe that we can overcome imposter syndrome, as it makes us inch ever closer to being an “expert” rather than a “beginner.” Why is this detrimental? Because according to Shunryu Suzuki: In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind, there are few. As a dedicated life-long learner, I would rather lean towards the infinite, and beware of the expert. Its difficult to learn something that you think you already know.

In my own journey, I have always been proudly and intentionally “industry agnostic.” What this means for me is that I am frequently an outsider to the industry that I am hired to work within, and thus I am forced to be in a beginner’s mind. I am forced to accept that “I don’t know.” I see this as a strength, not a weakness, and an advantage, not a disadvantage.

As someone that builds meaningful brands, one of my biggest tasks is to understand, viscerally and emotionally, the audience we’re speaking to. Not as demographics, but as people. Real humans. Demographics lie, because they are statistics and data that have no context. But nothing in the world exists without context. Especially not humans. We are a multiplicity, and we are non-linear. We’re weird and beautiful. Its my job to understand our weirdness and honor it—that’s what the best brands really do.

So, that’s why my beginner’s mind/outsider perspective is helpful, if not a superpower, in this case. It puts me on the same level as our potential audience, because they are outsiders, too. They don’t know the brand or why it matters, and neither do I. So, if I can find something that I find truly compelling or helpful about what the brand is offering, then I know it will be compelling for others as well.

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?

Over the time in my career, I have worn many hats. Often, all at the same time. It’s a silly look, both literally and metaphorically, but it teaches a person a lot. I pride myself on being a well-informed, thoughtful, and spiritually-aware Generalist. I am a naturally curious person with a penchant for art and beauty, in whatever form they may take. I love learning. I love making things beautiful, and making beautiful things. My punk rock roots imbue me with the drive and ability to try anything, and to work with what I have, DIY style. My skateboarding roots help me see the world from a unique perspective—handrails aren’t a safety implement: they’re an opportunity to do a trick; a curb isn’t a barrier in a parking lot: they’re a playground. My anthropology background helps me understand how culture works, how people think, and why we make decisions the way we do. My business experience has helped me be a better leader and communicator, and given me some knowledge about how money actually works. My linguistics background gives me a deep understanding of what we’re actually saying when we say certain things. My interest and study of persuasion make me better understand effective communication, and why people believe what they believe—and how to help them make better choices. I have a wide breadth of tastes and experiences in life thus far, and I hope to grow it ever wider.

So, what do I do? I’m here to help. I use all of my experiences in concert to make the biggest impact possible. I believe the best way to improve the world is by improving our culture and by improving our brands, and drilling down further, by improving ourselves as sovereign individuals. World peace begins from within, and extends outward. I am a fan of understanding how we’re similar, and how we’re connected, rather than measuring the world by our differences. I think that all the brands we build are extensions of ourselves and our psyches, so, understanding ourselves better is a great way to shift the culture towards something more beneficial for all.

I’ll work for any brand, product or service that I can believe in. What makes me believe in them? Well, they have to be poised to contribute something positive and useful, both in the short term and the long term. It’s on all of us to create the world we want to live in, and I’m here for it.

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?

Looking back over my journey as a creative professional, I would say that my most valuable skills or qualities would be my 1) my attitude, 2) my perspective on life, and 3) my grit.

Please allow me unpack those:

1) Attitude. They say that ‘attitude is everything,’ and also notably, that we benefit from an ‘attitude of gratitude.’ I agree. At the core of our attitude is our energy, and energetically speaking, its clear that you get back what you put out. Everything is a vibration and a frequency, and your frequency will be a magnet for similar frequencies. So, that means our best choice is to seek out the best in things. Vibe high if you want high vibes in return. It should be noted that this isn’t always easy to do—the world can be a negative place, and its on us to remain vigilant in what we value and what we want to see more of. Its very easy to fall into the comfortable trap of low vibes and harsh judgment, of self or others. Logically speaking, it’s often a highly justifiable response in the name of “justice,” because life isn’t fair and people can be jerks. I’ve done it plenty of times myself, and no doubt I will do it again on occasion. But I challenge myself regularly to do better for myself, and see the best in others, as its really our best choice to actually improve things. Nothing will ever be perfect, but we can always strive to improve.

2) Perspective. We can choose to see the world as full of miracles, or not. And guess what? We’d be right in either case. This one has crossover to the first answer, as we always will find what we are looking for. Is a dandelion a weed or is it a flower? Our framing of things actually helps to influence the content within the frame. If you are getting bad results in your life, challenge yourself to question your perspective and see if you can change it for the better. (Hint: its usually rooted in generosity, for self and of others.)

3) Grit. I am proudly and luckily born in 1976, making me squarely a Gen Xer—arguably the best generation that gets no credit. We have grit because of how we were raised, and when we were raised (70s-90s). Grit is how shit gets done. Grit can be learned, but by its nature, it needs to be learned the hard way. Grit means falling down a thousand times and getting back up a thousand and one times. Grit is a mindset. Grit ties back to attitude, but its something more. Its a level of resilience that never gives up, and simply figures it out—one way or another. It’s an anti-fragile approach to life, as Nassim Taleb points out. To learn grit, do hard things, do things that embarrass you, and make yourself uncomfortable. Once you walk through the fire—and we all must walk through the fire one day— you’ll be able to look back and see that you didn’t die, and you’ll be stronger and wiser for it.

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal client is aligned with the idea of being in service to the world. It also helps if they are visionary in how they want to contribute to make things better for all. This can be big or small, working locally or globally.

Not only is this a good business foundation to work from, but it’s a vital response to the current state of things. We don’t need more things in this world—we need better things. We need things that truly serve a need and contribute some positive change at a fundamental level. Someone much smarter than me once said that “Design is Destiny,” meaning that the systems that we design are guaranteed to produce a certain result through what is incentivized by the system mechanics. We can’t get mad at the result if its something less than desirable—we are more wise to analyze the system that we have in place, and examine what behavior is being incentivized. If you pay someone to lie, they are going to lie all day long, as their paycheck depends on it. If I were a ghostbuster that got paid six figures to help you find and exorcise ghosts, do you know how many ghosts I am going to find for you? ALL OF THEM. And I would give you regular, data-backed reports of my findings. You won’t believe how haunted your place was—and still is.

So, my ideal client is a person, product, or service that is aware of this basic fundamental understanding of how things work. My ideal client wants to build better things.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jeremypelley.com
• Instagram: @jeremy.pelley
• Facebook: –
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-jeremy-pelley
• Twitter: –
• Youtube: –
• Yelp: –
• Soundcloud: –
• Other: –

Image Credits

OMFGCO, Natural Kind, Ace Hotel, Augusto Falopapas, Fred Joe Photo, Jeremy Pelley