We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christian Inman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christian below.
Christian , so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?
Growing up, I was always different from those around me and did not align with some of the expectations placed on me. I endured a lot of bullying in elementary school and a bit of middle school. I like to think that when you get bullied there are two outcomes; you either become the bully or you can become somewhat of an anti-bully (which is what happened to me). I say anti-bully because those whole bully people are spreading hate in the process, and I think from knowing what it felt like to be ostracized and pushed to the side I made it my mission to make sure others felt less alone. So instead of spreading hate, I made it my mission to spread love to people and always put myself in their shoes and understand where they were coming from.
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’m an Electronic Pop&RnB artist from PG County, Maryland. Music was always the one thing that stuck with my throughout my whole life. There truly wasn’t a moment where I didn’t understand music was a part of my genetic makeup. My focuses right now are working on my artistry and using it as a vehicle to spread a message of authenticity. That you do not need to change core parts of who you are to be successful, music related or not. I think to often, we think it’s our identity that will hinder us, but do not recognize that it is actually the leaning into our individuality that will propel us forward. I do that by showing up authentically as myself in my artistry, while making music I love.
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?
Three skills I wish I knew were that it is okay to ask for help, that I should lean into the things that made me different, and that rest is required to sustain a career.
I was never good at asking for help and to be completely honest– I’m still working on this to this day, haha. When you’re used to doing everything yourself and working hard to get things done, especially as an independent artist, it is hard to ask for and even accept help when offered. This music thing does not move with just one person, even if it seems like one person is doing everything. Once I got to the point that I realized I could not do everything myself, I had to re-evaluate the ways in which I approached teamwork and collaboration. So asking for help is sooooooooo incredible important!
Learning to lean into my differences was hard to do in the beginning because when we’re young you want to fit in and you make friends by finding things in common with others. But I realized that it was so important to lean into your differences, especially in this music thing. No one wants to see the same thing done again and I’ve learned the more you lean into who you are people will relate.
And lastly, learning that rest is truly the only thing that will keep going from completely burning out is quite possible the most important lesson I had to learn. I used to think I was invincible, truly invincible. And some events happened that showed my I in fact was not invincible and needed to take care of my body. So learning to take care of myself and make sure the human me was okay before the artist me was a huge lesson.
I think the best advice I can give is to fail forward and make allll the mistakes that we can. Some people are scared to fail forward! And I think that if we’re able to do this, we’ll move forward so much faster with our artistry.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Looking back, one of the greatest things my parents did which I cannot thank them more for, is allowing me to pursue my dreams in the arts. They always supported my artistic endeavors and I know this isn’t the same for everyone so I am so grateful that they recognized what I wanted to do and allowed me to be. I know so many people who were forced to do something they did not want to do because their parents said that the arts weren’t sustainable. And even though they may not have known what the future might hold in pursuing music full-time, they always told me it was possible and that I could do it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianinmanofficial/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ3LVd_xPJfGD6n5u4yF2EQ
Image Credits
Headshot – Roy Cox
Show Photos – Lens of Bhumika
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
