Meet Ari Epstein

We were lucky to catch up with Ari Epstein recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ari, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Finding your purpose can be difficult. It’s something that takes a lot of introspection. You have to be really honest with yourself about the things that move and drive you in life. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about finding your purpose, is that you only have one in life when the reality is, that is not the case. For the longest time, I felt being a musician and putting the art I create into the world was my only purpose in life. However, after spending nearly 2 decades pursuing this passion, I found that your passion can often change in life. You can even rediscover old passions and revisit them when they’re filling your heart again. I think the worst thing that people can do is continue to pursue something that is no longer fulfilling them just because they believe it’s their passion. This is something that can lead to burn out and it’s often very easy to tell when someone has lost their passion for what they’re doing. The end result is the creation of something that is forced and isn’t created out of love. I think this is why introspection is the most important part of finding and discovering your passion. If you can’t be honest with yourself about how you feel about things good or bad you will never be able to discover what moves you most in life. Start by thinking of the things you already love and enjoy in life and explore them deeper. If there simply isn’t anything moving you in life the best thing you can do is to just try as many new and different things as you possibly can and see what you connect with the most. For example, I have always loved learning about personal, professional, and spiritual growth but never would have known I had a passion for helping others as well if I never explored how I could go about doing that. After recording my first YouTube video I was hooked. It’s as easy as exploring the things you already know you enjoy and seeing how you would most enjoy contributing your personal skill, talent, approach, or ideas to that topic or subject area. Then, if you want to try and monetize it, just think of creative ways to turn your passion into a business. But as with anything in life, proceed with a bit of caution as often attempting to combine you passions with your career it’s always the dream you might imagine it to be.

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’m really passionate about music, nature, and helping people both personally and professionally. I’ve been involved in various music projects over the last 22 years and I’m still pursuing this passion as an independent artist under the name. I, the Tiger. I’m currently in the process of writing and recording my third full length album. You can find all of my music on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube, or by visiting ItheTiger.com. Following my passion and love for nature and animals over the last 15 years, I’ve been running an aquarium service and maintenance company in Arizona named Arizona Reef Doctors. You can learn more about us and the services we provide at AZReefDoctors.com Further exploring my passion for helping others 5 years ago, I started a personal and professional growth company named The Balanced Alpha. You can find tons of free content by searching the balanced alpha on YouTube or by going to youtube.com/the balancedalpha. Two years ago, I relocated to a small town outside of Medellin, Colombia where I began a fresh, small batch, limited ingredient dog food company named Medellin Perro Cuisine. You can find out more about this company at medellinperrocuisine.com.

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?

We live in an instant gratification society. If you need groceries and don’t want to go to the store you can go on an app and order them. If you don’t want to cook you can go on another app and order whatever you want to eat. If you’re looking for love or a casual hook up there’s even apps for that as well. Developing a skill or passion takes time. It’s not something that comes overnight. Very rarely are people an overnight success but it seems that way because of the way the media portrays their instant rise to notoriety. Be patient with the process and never stop learning or trying to push yourself to do the very best you possibly can. At any given point in our life we can only do the best we can at that moment. The difficult part is for you to know when you’ve not given something your best effort or tried your hardest for me. Personally, this is one of the hardest things to do as an artist. There is a constant battle between self-doubt and knowing what I am capable of doing. You are the only one who can discern if the efforts you are making are the very best you are able to give at that moment in your life. For example, as I’ve gotten older, I realize my body isn’t capable of doing what it once was. So while I am still passionate about living a very active lifestyle, I understand my current limitations. As with anything in life, if you want to get better at something, you have to practice. Being able to manage your time and push yourself on the days when you struggle to get going is one of the hardest tasks to achieve but it’s one of the most important things to do. I found trying to live as balanced of a life as possible can be one of the most beneficial things you can do. You are the only one responsible for keeping your life in balance but it takes work and dedication.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

As I’ve gotten a little bit older I found so much happiness and simply trying to live a peaceful and fulfilling life. I think discovering the things that you love and are passionate about and finding ways to try and incorporate those things into your life as much and often as possible is the true key to happiness in life. The old saying live every day like it is your last is great, but I think it’s just as important to have long-term projects you are constantly working toward. I imagine one day when I pass hopefully a friend or relative will find one of my musical projects in the works and be able to share it with the world after my passing. Whether you call it legacy or any other term I’d like to think that the things I am creating now while I’m alive will have an energy that will surpass that of mine in this ‘living’ body state. I think I would live my life nearly identical to the way I’ve been living it for the past couple of years, not afraid to take chances or risks in pursuing what fulfills me and brings me happiness. I feel very fortunate that I don’t have any children and can be extremely selfish with my time and ability to pursue the things I love. I am so thankful to my parents for providing me with a loving and experience rich childhood, where they selflessly could not give as much of their time to their own personal passions, as I am able to give to my own. It’s very easy to get stuck in life. Most people, including myself are afraid of taking chances in life, especially big one such as moving, starting a relationship, ending a relationship, quitting your job, starting a business, closing a business, or pursuing a passion. Don’t ever be afraid to take a risk that you feel in your heart could lead to a happier or better life. It’s always worth the risk even if you fail as their will always be something to learn through life’s challenges and difficulties if you are open to accepting them. You are responsible for your own happiness in life. You can’t put that on your partner, your business, your colleagues or your employees. The truth is, life isn’t all rainbows and daisies I found without experiencing the difficult times in life I can’t appreciate the good times. This is one of the reasons I love being a musician so much. The songwriting process almost always has its highs and its lows it’s nearly never always easy and fluid all the way through. Since it’s such a personal process it’s something that you, the artist, are the only one who ever gets to experience prior to you sharing your finished, polished piece of art with the rest of the world. How beautiful. Slow down and enjoy the ride, life goes by very fast. The more you can just go with the flow and when hard times come just be present with them allow yourself to feel the emotions that they present and let them pass you’ll never get stuck in life too long. It’s OK to feel sad or disappointed, especially after a difficult situation like a divorce, a break up, facing financial ruin, the loss of a loved one or a partner, etc but you must continue living your life and finding the things that make you happy each and every day, even if they are small. I’d like to hope I’m going to live for longer than 10 years, but even if not, I know that I’ve always followed my heart and pursued the things that brought me the most joy and fulfillment which is all anyone can really do with the short time on earth we are given.

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Ari Epstein

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