Meet Ezra Edmond

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ezra Edmond a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ezra, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
Optimism is a funny thing. Ultimately nobody knows what the future holds, but most people like to anticipate what may or may not be next to come based on nothing besides past experiences, personal nerves, and anxious thoughts. But at the end of the day, all of us want to feel safe as we venture into a future we know nothing about because it hasn’t happened yet. Some lean into pessimism because “if you anticipate things to go badly, you’ll never be disappointed,” but I like to lean towards optimism because, ultimately, in my mind, “everything is going to work out one way or another”. Still, that doesn’t mean that things are always going to work out in my favor, but the global idea of “things working out the way they are meant to/destined to/etc.” has always helped me stay positive about the future.

Just because things may not go the way I want them to go doesn’t mean bad things are happening; I might just need to adapt or adjust my expectations. Strangely, this point of view seems to result in things often working out well, but maybe that’s just because I try not to dread the outcome and instead look forward to it, whatever it may be.

I think optimism and pessimism are almost the same thing at the end of the day, but optimism means you’re hopeful that regardless of what happens, the outcome is ultimately positive in some way, be it for you, for the world, for someone else, etc. I think I have spent my life always looking for the positive nuggets in any outcome, and that keeps me perpetually optimistic, some could say. I think the more you want to control an outcome, the more disappointed you’ll find yourself, and whenever possible, it’s nice to embrace the unknown and find some magic in it instead of running from or shunning it.

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?
I recently published my latest young adult novel, Cerberus The Tiger. It’s a sci-fi meets fantasy adventure about a young tiger that loses his scientist father in a terrible accident. Distraught, Cerberus gives up science and leaves his old life behind until he hears that it’s possible his father may still be alive, just lost somewhere beyond the veil of a mysterious portal. Armed with nothing but optimism, Cerberus ventures through the portal with the singular goal of finding his dad once again and recovering the time they lost together, but a much larger world awaits him on the other side, one full of unfamiliar civilizations, animals thought to be long extinct, and a powerful threat who sees Cerberus’s presence as an opportunity to finally emerge from the shadows and plunge the world into darkness. Cerberus must use his never-wavering optimism to build alliances, gain trust, and do the best he can to find his father. But even with hope and allies at his side, will he succeed, or will the world be made all the worse just because he tried?

I absolutely love writing and storytelling. This is my second published book, but the first in my new “Tiger Saga,” and I’m really excited to finally have it out there in the world! To me, reading is one of the most incredible experiences, one I’ve loved since I was a young child. The joy of seeing words become images in your mind as you read is truly unparalleled, and I am so excited for readers to have the experience of imagining this story with their own minds as they read it as well.

Even better, we’re having an official release event for Cerberus The Tiger at Auditorium Books in Los Angeles on August 17th, and I hope you’re able to stop by (https://auditoriumbooks.com/pages/events-calendar) or follow my Instagram @ArtofEzra or the Tiger Saga Instagram @TheTigerSaga if you want to stay in touch!

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 importance of asking “why?” I’ve learned that the more I seek to understand upfront, the less questions I have to ask later. Then I can use the learnings to build tools and find solutions.

Slowing down to do something properly, and not just flying through it because it’s ‘easier’. Each time I rush, I seem to make a mistake, and then it takes more time to fix the mistake than it would have if I had just done the thing the right way to begin with. Spending time upfront for me means more satisfying results in the long run and less time spent frustrated and trying to “scotch-tape-fix” issues down the line.

Taking time for hobbies, travel, relaxation, family & friends, and joy. Taking time to appreciate these aspects of life and spend time intentionally helps spark my imagination and solve problems in different areas of life and keep the important details of life at the forefront. Work is important, but it’s not worth missing the moments that remind me of who I am.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I am overwhelmed, I like to take a breath and step away for a moment. Once I feel a bit more ready to regroup, I like to make a plan, breaking whatever I have to accomplish into clear, manageable next steps. Then once there is a next step that feels achievable, I try to just slowly work away step-by-step until the whole goal is achieved. Sometimes, more time away first is necessary so I can slow down and try to understand what is so overwhelming. Often once I take time to think and process, things that are overwhelming become a little less stress-filled and approachable. But I have to understand why it’s daunting first. Sometimes it’s because there is a ton to accomplish, but other times I realize that I’m just psyching myself out.

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