Meet Joel Guptill

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joel Guptill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joel, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

Overall it comes from my family upbringing. My dad is a career pastor and I was taught and shown at a young age it is more meaningful to give yourself (time, energy, and talents) away over trying to acquire as much as you can. We grew up in a frugal home, as my parents raised 5 boys, but they always found the energy and time to serve others. One of the biggest influential elements of my upbringing was working at a summer camp in high school and into university. There, I learned and experienced first hand the value of serving others. I have also found throughout my life that I have always been happier and more content when I have chosen to give my time and energy to others; or to think of others more than myself.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I live in Nashville as a working musician. This takes many forms at the moment (I play for a few different artists, do some cover gigs around town, and write custom songs for people through and online song platform).

For my own music, I am currently focused on releasing as much as I can. I released an EP in the fall of 2023 called “Quarter Life Crisis” that I am super proud of and then a live album earlier this year. After the live album was finished and out I felt the next best step would be to self produce the next set of songs. It has been a huge learning curve but very rewarding! I released a single on June 28th called “Moon Song (Only One).” It’s a love song between the moon and a river in Easter Canada that I wrote last summer while visiting my parents. My. next single comes out late August called “Summer Break” that is just pure 90’s and early 2000’s summer nostalgia. I have a third song set to come out this fall called “You Are.” These songs feel fresh to me and I am excited to share them!

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?

I would sum it up into 3 questions I try and ask myself daily:
“How can I be of service”
“How can I add value?”
“How can I be even more curious?”

I gained clarity on these at some point last year and they kind of became my new slogan for life. As I think back to any past situation I have been in, any time postured myself from these questions things always went better. I think that is because they are way more outwardly focused than inward. While keeping these on one’s mind, you can’t help but think less of yourself and more about the person or situation you are encountering.

Another would be letting go of the idea that things should happen quickly and if they don’t it’s a waste of time. This is something I have been working on this year. As I get older, I try and focus more on the long game, and trust that as I show up each day to do the work, things will work out. And if they don’t, at least I was present each day (which is most important in my view).

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

Ah man there are so many good ones. I would say one of the most influential books I have read is called “The War of Art” by Stephen Pressfield. The premise of the book is that any time someone sets out to do something meaningful for themself there is this force that appears and makes it difficult to stay true to the path. He calls it resistence. It’s like an invisible character in each of our lives who’s sole purpose is to prevent us from doing what we have set out to do. Each chapter describes different ways that this force plays out in our lives and ways to overcome it and do the work.

Another really good book I feel worth mentioning is “Finite and Infinite Games” by James Carse. It is more of a high level philosophical approach to life but has had the deepest impact on how I view the world. Essentially, Carse argues that there are 2 types of games: One is finite and is played to win. The other is infinite and is played with the purpose of continued play. The whole book just describes these two types of games (or outlooks on life) and how they apply in different situations/circumstances.

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Jamie Glascow, Garrett Keafer

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