We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ezekiel Shrader a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ezekiel, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I developed a strong work ethic from, oddly enough, fear. And not the fear you might expect such as the fear of never having money or being homeless, but rather the fear of letting my father figure down and disappointing him. I, in fact, still recall the day it dawned on me that I had to be more than what I was. At the age of twelve I had been given a task, which I don’t recall what it was, but I do remember it taking me far longer to do than what was expected to the point where it wasn’t really being helpful. My older brother had a clear sign of disappointment on his face and it was a sure sign I let him down. One of the worst feelings I’ve ever had. Any time I feel like quitting or taking an additional break in whatever it is I’m doing, I remember this moment and press on.
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?
At the age of eight I started acting, primarily in college films. At age seventeen I started martial arts and worked my way into helping instruct kickboxing classes and later in 2014 I became the Indiana state karate champion. I continued acting through the years in various projects and eventually did some modeling for websites, local business advertisements, and some runway. I’ve always loved doing voices and impressions as well, like any young boy. Although, it wasn’t until I was twenty three years old did I realize that I had a talent for it. Never really thought about doing voices for a career. Now I’ve added voices to my arsenal of skills I offer for a large variety types of projects.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
If I could give three pieces of advise to anyone who has a dream it it would these:
1. Find your passion, what you love to do, and be selective with the jobs you accept because you can get burnt out and it can create a distaste for what you love. And never jeopardize your beliefs for a role.
2. Don’t stress about how long it seems to be taking to get where you want. It’s a process. If you don’t give up on your dreams your dreams never give up on you.
3. Never allow fear to stop you from taking that leap. The worst that can happen is you don’t get the role. However, you gained experience and confidence, which is always worth it. But if you never try you’ll never achieve.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I believe it’s better to have 1-3 skills that you are exceptionally good at rather than having a lot of skills spread out into different areas that you are not as proficient in. Everyone is different, this is just how I see the most benefit with my time that will enable me to reach my goals both professionally and financially. My brother is a videographer and a very proficient one at that. He’s also very professional at editing and directing. However, because he directed the majority of his time towards video and editing he is successful to the point where if he does any other work it’s because he wants to and not because he has to. If he had spread his time developing other skills he would not be where he is today because the high level skill he developed is in such high demand that he is able to charge more and in turn take less work and still make more and more money. In my case, I began learning graphic design on top of the other skills I have. Not only did graphic design take large amounts of time away from everything else, it was a slower process for me to learn because it wasn’t as natural of a talent for me. If you’re naturally good at something gaining skill in that area comes much quicker than in something you’re not as naturally gifted in, and therefore you can grow yourself and your business faster.
Contact Info:
- Website: Website under construction
- Instagram: @ezekiel_shrader
- Youtube: @ezekielshrader
