We were lucky to catch up with Euan Leslie recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Euan, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
I became very burnt out a few years ago which id never ever experienced in my life before… I thought I was too young and healthy to experience something like this but it proved to be one of the most hard but beneficial lessons I’ve learned and helped me become more in touch with my body, mind and spirit. I realized that if those are not in check then nothing will be. Including my music and art. Since then I have tried to be more aware of how I’m balancing everything when it comes to performing, recording, composing, producing etc….
It was easy for me to get caught up in all the thrills from touring, recording and before I knew it it had caught up with me to point I needed to take a big rest. I still get carried away today but can recognize when I need to take a backseat.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Euan and I come from a small town in southwest Scotland called Dumfries and I’ve been involved in music and the arts since I was very young getting my first gig at 8 years old on a snare drum & hi hat playing Scottish traditional tunes for local punters. I’ve been lucky to work with some amazing artists and musicians since then like Lee Ritenour, Jesus Molina, Gary Valenciano, The Shades and Melvin Davis to name a few….
Professionally speaking I’m focused on my artistry through continuing to perform, produce , compose , and create with amazing musicians and artists around the world. I’m looking to continue to tour in a variety of genres and to create more of my own music to share to the world.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I would say three that have helped me have been feeling fear and doing it anyway. Managing the fear we have as humans and overcoming that has been where I’ve seen the most growth in my music, drumming etc as I feel that’s where real creativity lies… . Basically being ok making mistakes.
Being open and receiving of life as it comes to you. Allowing yourself to learn from every situation you find yourself in.
Spending time with your chosen craft. If you want to get good at something you need to spend time with it. And more importantly, you also need to love it. I suppose being patient with yourself never hurts anyone.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I think balance is always nice. What I’ve found for myself is acknowledging my strengths which in my case is rhythm/drums/percussion and working within that giving most of my attention to it while also dabbling and drawing inspiration from other areas of music or life. I think it’s a bit of paradox as I feel I’ve grown a lot from exploring other areas like composing or producing/mixing that have added value to my main thing . Or even trying a new hobbie and trying to get out of what your good at can be very humbling and you can come back with a fresh perspective. Humility has always been a great tool for me, trying to think about what I can learn from each experience I have, then use that in whatever way that is. At the end of the day , I try to prioritize my gifts & strengths and use them to produce something that people can enjoy , feel inspired by or touched .
Contact Info:
- Website: euanleslie.com
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@bornofyouth