Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carlos Beltran. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Carlos , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I owe my good work ethic to my parents. My parents have both worked non stop in a career they both found passion in. Growing up this is all my siblings and I saw. 10 to 12 hour days to provide for our family and give us the best education we could possibly receive. At a young age I decided to pursue a non conventional career and despite the ups and downs and obstacles that came up I maintained persistence and dedication, something I learned from both my mom and dad. Another contributing factor was always feeling like I had to prove myself to everyone around me because of the career I’m in.
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 do a few things within entertainment. I am a session/ contract musician. I get hired to play drums for people in a live scenario or studio setting. I am fortunate enough to say it makes up at least half of my income. After many amazing and fulfilling opportunities I decided I wanted to better understand what goes in to concert and event planning. I got a first hand experience of executing a show but I wanted more… I studied music business and it was a great career in understanding budgets and contracts but I wanted the “in person experience”. I began assisting a friend and mentor in his concert promoting company where I learned a lot. I then got an opportunity to work on a show at the San Diego Zoo which turned into an Entertainment Manager roll. After a few years of gaining more and more experience I have maintained an ongoing career in Event Logistics Management, Organizing events and conferences around the country. I started a brand called Deep Culture because I wanted to create artistic experiences through events for people. It is an ongoing work in progress but I am content with what has developed. I tell this story in a very compressed way because it can easily turn in to a very long one but I went through a lot to be able to land where I am. Persistence was key in all of this. I have always considered myself to be a very determined individual. I had and continue to have a passion for what I do. Rejection from jobs and opportunities only fueled me more. I encourage all people in any field to find what they’re passionate about and go after it. I assure you it won’t be easy. Try and fail but never fail to try.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think what helped me excel in everything I tried to do was having strong interpersonal skills and professional demeanor. I know I wasn’t the best or most talented in my field. I was surrounded by people who had years of experience prior to me and knew the game better. I simply learned to be a collaborative individual and easy to work with as well as outgoing while always maintaining professionalism. Attention to detail/ detail oriented is also important. I found always showing up prepared and learning the background and history of the job/ contract. The little things stand out sometimes more than the bigger ones. Finally, Health is key. As cliche and “obvious” as it sounds. I learned dedicating time to yourself and being active in whatever way shape or form is instrumental and I wish I would’ve learned this earlier in my life. We need to learn to decompress and exute everything we collect on a weekly basis so we can always have a clear mind and continue taking on the work. For me it was running. Running helped me tremendously in creating discipline and a routine that would help me in time management. I absolutely hated running so this was a good obstacle to overcome. I highly encourage everyone early in their career to begin working on these skills to succeed not just professionally but personally as well and to remember that it won’ always be easy but as long as we’re passionate about it, it will always be worth it.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
There are a few people in my life that I feel where most impactful and helped me develop a lot of my skills and mentored me. The first is my dad. As I mentioned earlier both my parents are medical doctors and are very passionate about their career. I remember growing up my dad would work 10+ hour days and he’d get home and still have energy to spend time with his family. I owe a lot of my persistence, ambition and dedication to my father. Although he never fully agreed on my career choice he always showed me to work hard on whatever it is I am pursuing. Has taught me to be organized and disciplined as it will help me in the long term. Above all he showed me to always make time for family as it is the most important thing in life. My siblings are also important to mention. I look up to them for the families they’ve created and the dedication they have given to their homes. We all learned it from dad but it’s impactful seeing from an outside perspective who were are products of. Finally, My High school Music Teacher Paul Infantino, who I don’t know if he will ever read this but he was someone that made quite an impact in my early years and continues to do so. We still keep in touch almost 13 years later. Paul or (Mr. Infantino) saw my ambition and potential, he started inviting me to perform for another High school’s yearly pop concert, I would make a nice little paycheck for my performance. He might not know it but he opened the door for me to explore a career in music. Additionally he became someone I could simply talk to about my daily struggles at home and at school. Whether it was sharing frustrations about my dad “not understanding me” to my ridiculous relationship issues. He was always there and I would spend most of my lunches if not after school hours in his classroom just talking away. To most recently simply talking about life and how it has turned out and what I continue to go through. I grateful for him and everyone in my life who has helped in my growth.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlosbeltranmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlosbeltranmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-beltran-55957089/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@carlosbeltranmusic
Image Credits
