Meet Conner Christensen

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Conner Christensen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Conner, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is something I’ve dealt with just about the entire journey.
When I see my friends and peers do incredible things I could look at it from the lens of imposter syndrome.
“I’ll never be…” fill in the blank.

I choose to look at it as inspiration.
We’re all doing similar things and maybe I haven’t done it long enough, messed up enough, or failed enough to level up.

There’s a lot of reasons to not start something, or quit early. If imposter syndrome is one of those reasons then
BE PATIENT.
I choose to think of it like a video game, levels, cut scenes, boss fights. Etc…
If Mario was experiencing imposter syndrome, what would that look like for mushroom kingdom?

Find your WHY, for what you’re doing, and melt away the imposter syndrome by showing up consistently for that WHY.

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?

If it’s drum related, I do it haha.
One of the things that I’ve found important is, diversifying yourself in your craft.
So, I teach, record, perform, and tour!
Not all at once of course.
My other working time is filled with working in my studio with other artists and their projects.
Reel Flow Studios ultimately works in creation. We love to make funny ads for companies, we love to write scripts and direct projects to their unveiling.

Video, audio, and all the inbetween.

For example, currently we are finishing our first few episodes of a mockumentary called “TUNESQUAD”
Following an oblivious cover band and their common musician antics.

Within that project alone, we are utilizing our team of audio and video to bring you something we think is really funny and entertaining😊

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?

1: Patience.
Don’t get me wrong, patience is NOT sitting on your couch waiting for your dream life to unfold before your eyes.
But, carving away the stone one day at a time to reveal the sculpture within, that will begin to teach you patience.
The lesson lives in the work, and the only way to learn it is, through the work.
After you’ve carved your first hundred stones, you’ve learned techniques, tricks of the trade. Etc… you’ve learned!
I’m sure that your hundredth sculpture is far superior in fundamental and technical terms, than your first.
Get to a thousand sculptures and you’ll have learned something invaluable.
You’ll also probably be a BadA** Sculptor.

2: Collaboration
“If you want to go FAST, go alone.
If you want to go FAR, go together.”
-African proverb
That quote sums it up for me.
In art, you’re collaborating whether you know it or not, so lean into it.
Find some like minded people, and start giving eachother imposter syndrome, level up together. 😊
Learning to work with others, their ideas, and their visions will help you sharpen your chisel, their chisel and now, there are multiple sets of tools!
Maybe you don’t have one of the tools they do at the moment, and vice versa.
The work can also be dispersed, delegated and executed quicker, and more efficiently.
Two heads are better than one.

3: Have FUN with it!
Need I say more?
I’m going to anyway.
I used to be an electrician. I enjoyed my job, and felt useful, and after years and years… I realized that I was simply living in the CEO’s dream.
I wanted to live my dream, so I started down the path of no return essentially.
I Quit my job and went for it.
Realizing that no amount of money, will ever make me as happy as music will. I changed the currency of my transactions and I am happier today than I’ve ever been.
Jump to see if you can fly!
Now all that seems terrifying and it was/IS! I’ve made a lot of sacrifices for my dream so far…
My curious journey has had dead ends, monsters, pits, valleys, canyons, you name it. It’s scary! But, it’s scary like a dirt bike…
RAW ADRENALINE FILLED FUN!

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I have a few strategies for this…
First and foremost for me, tried trusted and true… I go practice.
I change the playing field of me against the world to; me against me.
After all this time, practice is a lot more enjoyable, but all the years prior, it got me through.
So when I’m feeling imposter syndrome, or completely down and out and defeated, I know that I can go to the woodshed and sweat out my frustrations while I’m still moving toward my goal.

I also will read, meditate, do yoga, play a video game while I listen to a book etc…
Anything to quiet the mind, because those doubts and feelings are only real to you, in your mind. They aren’t actually real.
Silencing the internal critic when needed has been crucial for my continued journey.
I like to think of it as proving someone wrong. The result is that, I just prove that little annoying voice telling me I’m not good enough wrong.

All in all, when you feel like quitting, don’t give up! Go get to work on where you’d like to be, rather than wallow in where you are.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Finding Your Why

Not knowing why you are going wherever it is that you are going sounds silly,