We were lucky to catch up with Janine Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Janine , 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?
A strong work ethic has been instilled in me since I was a child. My Mom was my earliest example of hard work and determination. I watched my Mom earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees while raising me as a single parent and working a full-time corporate job. She taught me the importance of hard work and sacrifice. She exposed me to successful individuals who shared their stories of their journies and poured words of wisdom into me. She gave me experiences that allowed me to travel outside my neighborhood and state and see things that challenged me and expanded my horizons. Everything I learned and experienced showed me the fruits of a solid work ethic. I grew up under the adage: “You don’t work, you don’t eat” – that’s been the fuel for me to always show up and put my best foot forward in everything that I do.
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 am the creator, co-host, and producer of the Bass For The Culture Podcast. Bass For The Culture is a podcast curated for Bass Guitar Players, fans, and enthusiasts in the space of Funk, Soul, R&B, Gospel, and Jazz. Bass For The Culture is unique in the sense that it was the first of its kind. BFTC was born in February 2022 from the lack of podcasts in that space. My husband and I are both bass players who happen to be avid podcast listeners. We were searching for a bass guitar podcast and couldn’t find any that could hold our interest so we created our own. As of December of 2023, Bass For The Culture was ranked the #1 bass guitar podcast by Feedspot podcast ranking database. We have worked hard to garner an organic family of listeners and supporters. BFTC is fluid and always evolving, we are constantly thinking of ways to keep things fresh to keep pushing the show forward. The support that we’ve garnered from musicians and supporters has been surreal. We want our brand to speak for itself. We want BFTC to be a trusted resource in the world of bass guitar. We take pride in making sure we fact-check all of our resources, to bring accurate accounts of the bass players and events that we discuss on our show. We have some exciting things happening in 2024, some we can’t let out of the bag quite yet, but we are excited about the things that we have coming down the pipeline this year, including an exciting format change and some incredible interviews.
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?
Three qualities helped to shape me on this journey. The first is not being afraid to take risks. Fear can hold us back from even trying to do something. If it’s uncomfortable or if it’s hard we may be too afraid to try. I have learned that I have to be willing to take a risk, even if I fail, at least I can say I tried. It’s better to do it scared than not at all because you never know what can be on the other side of a try. The second quality is determination. Once I overcame my fear of trying and found that it could be something that I could succeed in, then I became determined to do whatever I had to do to make it work. Becoming laser-focused on the goal and the vision helped to guide me on my journey. The third quality is discipline, and I can’t stress this one enough. Setting up a routine for productivity and being disciplined at it is key. Working for myself requires discipline because there is no one telling me that a deadline has to be met, or that different tasks need to be completed. Getting up early and setting the productivity tone for the day is imperative for hitting my productivity goals for the day. Following a routine and schedule helps on those days when I don’t feel like working but I do it anyway because I have an established routine that I stick to. Discipline is key to ensuring success when working in creative spaces. Being from Detroit has helped me with all of these traits. Our city is the definition of hard work, grit, and determination. I am so proud to be a product of Detroit!
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
With everything happening in the world life can seem overwhelming. For me, it seems like there is a never-ending to-do list that I will never get caught up with. It gets so hectic at times that I feel like throwing my hands up in defeat and walking away from it all. I noticed that I had the tendency to look ahead at the bigger picture and try to get things done to get to the end goal of the big picture and that was creating an unhealthy stress cycle for me. Looking at my goals through that lens was overwhelming. I had to learn how to shrink my focus and take things one task and one day at a time. That simple adjustment helps me to avoid stress and burnout. Also, I’ve learned the importance of breathing and being aware of my breathing. When I feel overwhelmed I do a few deep breathing exercises to get my breathing under control to ease the feeling of stress or anxiety.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/bassfortheculture
- Instagram: @bassfortheculture
- Facebook: Bass For The Culture Podcast
- Youtube: @bassfortheculturepodcast
Image Credits
J. Wilson Photo Art
