We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jason Court a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
JASON, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Well, it’s not necessarily a negative connotation with “Imposter Syndrome”, as my original and previous profession was in fact “impersonating” characters written to script. SO, as an actor, it wasn’t that I was necessarily struggling or suffering from it, but in fact was auditioning and looking to be an imposter of sorts. At least thats the way Ive looked at it when approached with this question.
Finding what I do now, allowed me the control of not “impersonating” the person that does what I do, but allowed me the ability to BE the person that does what I do! By that virtue, it relinquishes the power into my court ( no pun intended ) and I am therefore in control of making my product and sharing it with folks because it represents what I am viscerally impassioned by.
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?
It happened at 6:30 a.m. on a brisk October morning in 2002, a day that would radically change my life.
The film industry Unions were on strike, so instead of spending one more free-lance day on a dark stage eternally waiting for a director to yell “Action,” I headed out the door to a winery where I’d picked up hours as a cellar worker. An opportunity offered by an old friend, it was my first harvest at 39 years old. I was green as the early grapes, stiff, sore and tired to the bone… yet I felt so very lucky.
Soaking up the snap in the air and Napa’s colors as I drove that early Fall morning, I was suddenly struck by just how alive I felt. Everything I was doing fascinated me. The sheer scope of what I was learning was daunting, but I was fully engaged by what I was learning, drawn into it as I hadn’t been to anything in a very long time, if ever.
I was incredibly fortunate to land under the tutelage of one Chris Carpenter of the Lokoya Vineyards, an uncommonly generous teacher who both encouraged and challenged me. Our relationship went decades back to when the two of us worked in the Chicago bar and restaurant scene together post-college and created a lasting friendship.
Rambling down “The Trail” that day, I made a pact with myself that if, when the harvest was over in December, if I still felt the way I did right at that moment, I would forego all else, make the commitment to move to Northern California and dive deeply into the world of wine.
Suffice it to say, I’m still in Napa, 22 years later … and I have my own brand called Evidence, for which I am the winemaker of…
www.evidencewines.com
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I’d have to say, one of the most important”skills”, if you can call it that, is the ability to “go with the flow” and keep the ability to be spontaneous open. Spontaneity is hugely important when going into something that is in the “unknown”. Also, the ability or inspiration to change direction and go with a feeling of heart or gut. Being able to identify the things that we viscerally connect with and listen to that impulse. To identify what truly hits at our / your core and moves you / us emotionally is a blessing in disguise and an important connection to understand.
Lastly, to not bury a creative impulse, and follow through with what that impulse is suggesting to us……….
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I am a creative soul, and by far the biggest obstacle for me in operating my own Business / Brand, has been entering the world of sales. I am not by any means a “salesman”, and it has been the biggest challenge for me to put on that face and work sales as well as “making”. Personally I have grown immensely in that department, by literally just jumping in and and “doing it”. And since I am the lone wolf in the whole operation, there isn’t much of a choice but to jump in and feel the unease, and get after it….
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.EvidenceWines.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Evidence.Wines
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceWines
Image Credits
all pics taken by myself or on self timer…
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
