We were lucky to catch up with Eric Silver recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Eric, 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?
From both my father and mother. My father started a commercial photography studio which had a very shaky start but over time became one of the largest businesses of its kind in the United States. Had it not been for his perseverance and dedication, it would have gone under early on. My mother was a refugee from Europe and endured incredible hardships on the journey to America and after. She survived and created a strong family with my father and later in life, a business of her own. Knowing what they went through, I never have expectations that things will go smoothly straight out of the chute, but I learned that with patience and dedication, you can make things happen, even against all odds.
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 have two careers.. I’ve worked professionally as a music producer, song-writer, musician and artist since moving to Nashville in the 1980’s. I’ve also been teaching martial arts since 1992, Japanese karate and Gracie “Brazilian” Jiu-Jitsu. My martial arts school, Zanshin Dojo, was the first school of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA (mixed martial arts) in Nashville. Although they seem like radically different fields, they have something in common. One is about perfecting movement and the other, perfecting sound as it were. Both go along with my perfectionist tendencies.
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?
The main thing I would recommend is, seek out and surround yourself with the most talented people you can find. In music, I’ve always tried to work with the best song-writers, recording engineers, musicians, etc. In martial arts I seek out the best instructors and teams. Be a sponge and learn as much you can from everyone. Fortunately for me, I’m fascinated with my fields so to me the learning process is very enjoyable.
Number two, don’t worry if there are people better than you in what you do. There’s always going go be someone better and someone worse. It’s a never ending mission to keep improving life skills and at the end of the day, most people want to be around and work with others who are comfortable in their skin. So, be confident in the things you do well and humble about what you don’t. And remember no matter how good and successful you are at whatever, there’s still room to grow. Confident humility goes a long way.
The third thing which has been very impactful in my life so far is, just because something is a long shot, it doesn’t mean you can’t try. I believe that with the right conditions, anything can happen. We may not know what those perfect condition are but if you’ve got nothing to lose, why now try. There’s an expression I love which is, don’t tell someone it can’t be done, who is already doing it.
It’s great to dream big, but realize that not everything we want (or think we want), will materialize. If one goal doesn’t come to pass, it’s not the end of the world. Recalculate and move on. Life is too short to focus for very long on what didn’t work out. There’s always tomorrow and new goals. Stay humble and grateful. There’s a lot of good in the world to be thankful for.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
I started my career(s) very young and have been at it for a long time. There’s comes a point where people around you are going to look.. for newer and younger, people. It’s particularly true in the entertainment and music business. In martial arts, there’s still some appreciation for older experienced practitioners, but still quite a few want to train and be around current, young competing “champions”. With both of my occupations, I’m far more skilled now than when I was younger but that doesn’t always win jobs. So I try to stay current and flexible, listen and learn and not always think that the my old ways are better. There’s also an art to finding the people/customer who want and appreciate what you do. So positioning yourself in the proper circles, nowadays social media and the like is very important.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ericsilvermusic.com,
www.zanshindojonashville.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericsilvermusic/,
https://www.instagram.com/zanshindojonashville/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ericsilvermusic/,
https://www.facebook.com/zanshindojonashville/ - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ericsilvermusic
Image Credits
Silmara Ciuffa and Chris DeStefano
