We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jen Ash a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jen, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I used to be a professional basketball player, hard work and disciple were not an option. This part of my journey educated me to be a stronger person and a keeper. I was a mediocre player when I started and I find my way to the top by putting more work than anyone else , practicing extra hours when everyone else was enjoying their day .
I’ve learn to accept feedback and productive criticism without taking anything personal . Now honesty is a big part of my work process. I appreciate anyone who is courageous enough to tell me when things are not good and can get better. I don’t need sugarcoating in anyways . We need to understand our weaknesses as much as our strength to find room for expansion and growth.
When I look back , I realized that my journey as an athlete was preparing me for my artist career .
I’ve sacrifice some aspects of my life to get where I want to be and follow my dreams and today I can tell that I am not afraid to put the work necessary to create art. I am not afraid to learn new skills and get out of my comfort zone .
I love being uncomfortable, it means some things are changing and evolving for the better and I get excited to discover what the future holds.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I was born in Lebanon , but my mother immigrated in France because of the civil war . I grew up in south of France started to play basketball at 11 and went along on my athletic journey . Fast Forward at 25 I decided to stop my Basketball career and take a leap of faith . I wasn’t enjoying playing anymore , I was bored and unfulfilled . So I packed my bags and move to the city of Angel to follow my Artist journey . Everyone called me a fool , discouraged me , throwing fears and anxiety on me but I stand strong , got on a plane straight to Los Angeles . I really though the American Dream was real , I thought that it would be easy and fast and I was completely wrong . It took me a long time to figure out that if I want to pursue my singing and acting career I would have to take charge of my destiny . Nobody is coming to save me or support me better than myself . I went on a long self discovery path away from family pressure and expectations and I felt free to become the person I am destined to be. An Artist !
I’ve learned everything from scratch : writing , singing , producing , acting … and it’s a long rocky road but I enjoy every part of the process because I am passionate and I would rather fight for what I love than being comfortably miserable on a 9 to 5 job.
I stopped listening to whoever has something to say of what I should or should not do . I now embrace who I am with no judgment, which leads to my next Album release in February 2024 called : “NO JUDGMENT”
My website is :
https://www.jenashmusic.com
I’m looking forward to share my music with you !!!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
One of the big quality I’ve learned to trust is following your intuition . A lot of people will give you advices , make comments on what you do and how you do it and sometimes it is important to filter the informations and take whatever serves you and leave the rest . There is a right balance to find and not listening to what people have to say sometimes. is beneficial . Because most of the time those people are not taking the same direction so I would say the greatest quality is to always follow your heart.
A second big quality is to be flexible , you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. There is the way you see things , your visualization of the results must most of the time things turn out differently. Being flexibly help you adjust and adapt when there is an obstacle which help you move forward instead of being stuck because it didn’t go as planned. You have to keep moving because most of the time things didn’t work out for you to have something better .
The hardest one for me was learning how to say No and set boundaries . Saying No is respecting your time , respecting the other person time and aligning with your objectives without distractions. Our time is precious and I want to spend mine wisely.
I believe that being a people pleaser can be draining and hurtful and setting boundaries make you be more respected.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
I believe every single person I meet in my journey teaches a lesson I need to learn to evolve and be better artist and a better person . I also love when people are being negative towards me because is make me more hungry for success . I have a lot of people pushing me down and not believing in me and I honestly can’t wait to prove them wrong . Everyone is playing a part without even knowing it . But your biggest support should be yourself . If you don’t believe nobody will
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jenashmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenashmusic/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenashmusic
- Twitter: https://x.com/jenashmusic?s=20
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiHumBTdPHmi2iw_oBxeppA
Image Credits
Jeremy David Creative
