We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leonard Patterson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leonard below.
Hi Leonard, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Honestly, I didn’t think of myself as resilient until later in life, but looking back, the seeds were planted early on — in grade school, actually. My 8th-grade English teacher, Mrs. Sweeney, told our class that even if we aced our final paper, the highest grade we could get was a B. The only way to earn an A was to give a speech in front of all the classes and record it. She “Mr. Miyagi’d” me without me realizing it. I wanted that A so badly that I stopped worrying about what people might think or if I’d mess up. I guess you could say that was my first taste of resilience? The uncertainty and fear were just stepping stones because the goal just mattered more.
Years later, in corporate America, I was a lot more aware of being resilient and persistent when I discovered my passion for facilitation, speaking, and training. It took three years and seven interviews before I finally landed my first corporate trainer role. There was a lot of disappointment to get to that first “yes,” but I kept showing up because this time I wasn’t chasing a title (or a good grade) — I was really looking for a job with alignment and purpose.
My most recent test, though, came during the heart of the pandemic when I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Stage III prostate cancer. One of the worst days ever (obviously). Immediately after the doctor told me “you have cancer”, he followed that up with: “If you choose to do nothing, I’d say you have about 5 years (to live).”
Not cool man. Of course, the only thing I heard was “… you have 5 years to live.” So this time, the goal wasn’t a professional one — it was all about survival.
With my wife and family by my side, we pretty much did ALL the things: 6-hour surgery, lymph node dissection, 39 sessions of radiation, 2 years of hormone therapy. I prayed like I never had before, and I found uplifting affirmations to fall asleep to. And not that it was prescribed, but actually performing/singing on stage with my band was quite possibly the best medicine of all.
The good news? That diagnosis was almost five years ago to the date of this interview, and my oncologist just gave me an amazing update: she considers me fully cured. I honestly didn’t know ‘cured’ was a thing that could happen in this scenario.
So, I guess for me, resilience can come in different forms, but as I think about it, it’s never been about bouncing back. It’s always been more about bouncing forward. Having a goal, having faith, and trusting that every challenge, every delay, every detour is still part of my God-given journey.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am so fortunate to get to perform at events, weddings, and festivals with my band. It is still a form of therapy for me, and I think the most special part is the connection with people. Whether it’s music-lovers, clients, newlyweds, etc, I thoroughly enjoy showing up for people. Over the years, that has also led me to the position of helping musicians and creatives bridge the gap between their passion and their income through my company, Indie Band Coach. It’s my creative education brand that started as an Instagram blog full of tips I’d learned from years of performing and booking. My goal now is to help artists and musicians step onto social media not just for promotion—but to think of it as “the biggest stage we’ll ever have access to.”
The unexpected part in this has been tapping into my training and education background, where I get to use my e-learning and corporate training experience to build resources and coaching tools. I’m in the process of launching a Bars to Ballrooms Workshop for bands and am designing a suite of AI-powered bandmates (i.e. CustomGPTs). I just want musicians to get to the point where they can master their online presence as well as they have their on-stage presence.
Boiling it down: Whether I’m on a stage, in front of a flipchart, or in a virtual classroom, my mission is to help artists and bands share their creative gifts and book gigs they love.
I’ve also recently joined the Board of Directors for Arts for Learning Indiana, a nonprofit providing arts education programs to youth across the state. Their mission—enhancing creativity, improving academic performance, and developing social-emotional skills—is one I’m incredibly proud to support.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
This is a good question. If I had to drill it down to three, I’d say:
<b>Prayer</b> — keeps me grounded when everything else feels shaky. Through my career, creative roadblocks, and even a cancer diagnosis, my Faith has always led me to focus on my purpose. It’s been my way of aligning with something bigger than myself — a reminder that peace can exist even in chaos.
My advice: even if you don’t believe in God or prayer, try meditating, sitting in silence, and finding your center. Think about your goal and be ready to pivot without panic.
<b>People</b> — have been the foundation of every chapter for me. It’s all about communication, but it’s always centered around people! From friends and family to bandmates and clients, every opportunity in my life has come through connection. Music has brought me to a lot of people, but it’s the relationships that keep me there.
My advice: try to always speak with kindness and truth! Ephesians 4:29 — “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”
<b>Persistence</b> — you have to fall forward, not backward (because let’s face it, we all get knocked down). There have been seasons where things didn’t work out, doors didn’t open, or life just hit really hard. All I’ve tried to do is just keep showing up, keep serving, and keep believing.
My advice: build a positive support system around you – people, processes, etc., so that WHEN you get knocked down, you WANT to get back up!
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
This year has been about learning to let go — to stop trying to predict or control every outcome. For most of my life, the focus was mainly deadlines and deliverables, but lately I’d like to think I’ve gotten a lot better at protecting my peace and trusting the process.
I’ve learned that growth doesn’t always mean doing more — sometimes it just means sitting still for long enough or getting quiet enough to recognize what really matters.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://store.indiebandcoach.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiebandcoach
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardpatterson/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/indiebandcoach
Image Credits
Jessica Patterson, Kadin Bright Photography, Kristi Swango Photography, Sammi Jo Photo Co., Cortney Matz, Mark Herner
