We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Colescott Rubin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Colescott, 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 something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
When I was a kid, I’d try new things all the time, always looking for new subjects to be excited about. Every subject was my favorite subject! Once I started focusing on my passions (like music, math, and science for instance) I noticed the comparisons start to come up. The more I cared and the more time I put into things, the more anxious I was in comparing myself to others, worrying about whether I had enough skill or was progressing fast enough. Eventually, I remembered the way I was being when I first started diving into all these subjects and when those fires of creativity were lit. However, it took me having a the first big depression of my life to get to that point.
When I was 18, I got seriously depressed for five months. Hardly anything brought me joy, especially music, which used to be my favorite thing in the world. Nothing seemed to get me out of the funk I was in and it was exhausting being that way for so long. Eventually, I got so fed up with it that I stopped caring completely. It was the greatest blessing in disguise. Because I was unattached to the results of anything I did, I could shoot for the stars without worry. Ironically, by not caring about anything at all, I was able to create magic.
I made up the possibility of getting a full scholarship to a music school in Boston or New York. I didn’t believe in myself in the slightest, but I pretended like I did and took actions towards that goal. I applied to five music schools, the first with only three days notice after not having practiced in five months. I didn’t get into that one, but I did get into all the others, and won the Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. It was surreal, because I didn’t believe in myself the entire time. I just acted like I did, embracing the cognitive dissonance. The human imagination is a powerful thing, and it turns out the best way to overcome imposter syndrome is to pretend like you don’t have it!
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 a time-traveling creole circus musician & children’s entertainer. I combine playing bass, tuba, trombone, guitar, kazoo, and other instruments with unicycling, acrobatics, and unusual circus skills to give joyful performances that are as entertaining visually as they are musically. The core values of what I do are full self-expression and healing for all people. More often than not, these go hand in hand in my performances. The audience is first, always. It wouldn’t be possible for this to be my job without them, but more importantly, expression is one of those strangely paradoxical resources that you have more of the more you share it and give it to others. Music is just like love in that way.
My brother AJ and I have a family friendly musical vaudeville act together called the Rubin Brothers, which we performed on American Idol with last year. We have our first big theater residency in New York at the Voorhees Theater in Brooklyn May 2nd & 3rd 2025. We are thrilled to be partnering with NYC College of Technology & the School of Entertainment Technology to produce an interactive all-ages family-friendly variety show with music, circus, comedy, showcasing our all-original music. We’ll be using the video from these shows to pitch our kids show to PBS.
I am also auditioning for America’s Got Talent this year with my original music and circus skills. Inspiring or healing a child in any way makes an immeasurably profound difference in the world, and that is why I see the greatest possibility in being an entertainer, educator, and mentor to children. I hope to use AGT as a platform to share this dream with people who can help make this dream a reality through helping me start a children’s show on television.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Definitely my adaptability, my interpersonal skills, and my capacity to suck at things.
I am skilled at going with the flow, quickly adapting to new situations and changing circumstances. I do this in performance, with respect to my career, with social interactions, and with business and marketing angles. Being flexible and able to pivot at a moment’s notice is truly essential to making the most of every opportunity that comes your way, as well as being of service to your audience, customers, clients, and fellow human beings!
I was pretty socially awkward as a kid and had very few friends. I took that in stride when I realized that making friends and social skills were something that you could grow and hone just like any other skill. I consider my biggest personal and business asset to be one and the same: the community of people in my life. I cherish them and wouldn’t trade them for the world. They are the reason I am able to do what I do. And they are there in part, I believe, because I learned how to talk to people!
Lastly, my dad told me once that I was really good at sucking at things. I took it as the greatest compliment. He meant that I was completely undeterred by the incompetence of unfamiliarity. When we are new to a skill, job, situation, or chapter in life, mistakes will be made inevitably. What sets me apart is that I don’t mind being incompetent at new things. That’s just the way things work. It’s up to us to lean into those moments and periods of growth if we want to reach those points of mastery.
To be a great master, you must first be a great beginner.
My advice to folks early in their journey is to lean into your weaknesses without fear. They will soon become your strengths.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The biggest challenge I am facing at this point in my career is balancing preparation with acting on new opportunities.
They say that success is preparation meeting opportunity. I have been preparing for years in various ways professionally, and continue to do so (learning new skills, practicing, building a website, growing social media, creating a mission statement, writing songs, building professional assets, etc.) At the same time, I am responding to opportunities that present themselves, always aiming to give my best to each one (getting scouted for American Idol, going on tour, business partnerships, guest lecturer offers, doing my first comedy show, starting a brass band for major league sports team, performing with circuses, doing online interviews, etc.)
The trouble is, there is only so much time in the day. If you only respond to current opportunities, you lose authorship in steering your career in the direction you want it to go, potentially missing out on the bigger opportunities just around the corner that you need to prepare for. If you only prepare for future opportunities, ignoring the current ones, you lose momentum and miss out on connections that happen as a result of you being fully engaged in the world.
I am doing my best to overcome this by being as organized with my time as I can without succumbing to burnout.
It’s always a delicate balancing act–much harder than playing bass on a unicycle!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://colescottrubin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colescottrubin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColescottRubin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@colescottrubin/
- Other: Bandcamp: https://colescottrubin.bandcamp.com
Image Credits
Ali Trepanier (@alitreppp)
Ryan Shinji (@ryanshinji_photos)
Rohan Edwards (@redwardsmedia)
Mattias Lundblad (@mattiaslundblad)
W Tanner (@w.n.tanner)
John Huntington
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
