Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lauren Lee. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lauren, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
When I was a kid learning piano, my dad had a saying: “You’re building a house. Every day you practice, you put another brick on the house.”
I grew up Asian American in the Silicon Valley in a time when Apple and Facebook were becoming titans of Industry just down the street. In that shadow, I felt like I could never measure up to the world around me.
As soon as I moved away from the Bay Area, I realized that it wasn’t me – the world I had grown up in had set the bar so high that my perception of success or discipline was intensely skewed. For better or worse, I still kept that bar high for myself. It took me until I was 28 (and a year into therapy) when I realized that my accomplishments were not the same as my self-worth.
The saying that my dad gave me when I was a kid is now the cornerstone of how I view growth and success. If I’m able to put in a little bit of work every single day, with everything else that’s going on around me, I’ve succeeded. When results don’t come at the rate I want them to (instantaneously), I remind myself that I am building a house, and this day was just another brick I put on it. And believe – the house WILL be built.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I started Two Rooms (one room for music, one room for friendship). It’s a monthly concert series with good music and good people.
Two Rooms is the culmination of my 10-year career in the music industry. After working in artist management, talent buying, event production, and nonprofit work, I drew two conclusions that made me quit job after job: there is a prioritization of profit over people, and a prioritization of profit over craft.
I had also seen people do it right. I was inspired by communities like 143, Kids of Immigrants, The Basement LA, CAPE USA, Traktivist, and other culture defining brands that put their community first while never sacrificing the quality of their art.
I also noticed the impact monthly events in LA had in influencing the culture at large – these monthly moments, autonomous in their creativity, could become centers of influence in the media center of the world.
By throwing a show that will become a staple of the LA music scene, I will set a precedent of economic integrity, community care, and excellence in the entertainment industry at large.
In 2024, I’m throwing 11 shows and starting an artist development membership program that includes monthly workshops, a database of my network, and tickets to the show.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
–Audacity is free This has become my favorite phrase recently. I think it is especially important for women, even more so for entrepreneurs.
I started Two Rooms because I finally did not give a f*** about what other people thought was a good idea or not – I had seen my ideas succeed in the past, and I had given myself no reason to doubt what I could accomplish. As soon as I believed in myself and did what I set out to do, no one stopped me.
–Playing by the rules will rarely bring success to women
It is a fact that the world and its rules were not set up to benefit us.
Only up until recently, I was a big rule follower. I believed that if I followed the rules, made sure my boss was happy, and I worked hard, I would get raises and promotions. Looking back, I’m realizing I missed out on promotions because those rules had made me a people pleasing pawn that was easy to take advantage of.
Sometimes it helps to be a bit of an anarchist. If you see the system isn’t working for you, the answer to your problems (that no one will tell you) is to get creative and work outside the system.
–Set boundaries around work – even when it’s working for yourself
I think this definitely falls under the “following the rules” piece, but especially in America, we are told that if we work harder, we will find success and happiness. In reality, that is not always the case. More often it will bring burnout, and, if you work for other people, your superiors know they can take advantage of your time.
If you set up boundaries early on and say no to working late, taking on responsibilities outside of your job description, and giving away your time for free, it gives you more mental and temporal space for the things that matter – friends, family, and mental well-being.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
PRIORITIZE. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.
My therapist once said to me, “you know, you don’t have to finish everything on your to-do list.” While she was right, I had to chew on that idea for a full year.
When I’m overwhelmed (and after I’ve cried just a little bit), I’ll look at my list of things that are stressing me out and start putting them into buckets – I can do this next week, this doesn’t matter, this is stressful but will only take five minutes, I can delegate this, etc.
By the end of that practice, I usually just have a couple things I TRULY need to get done that day, and it provides me enough time to pause, drink some water, get something to eat, and then get to work.
Some of the things on your to do list may never be attended to, and it’s truly ok. The world will keep spinning, and you will be fine.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://tworooms.us
- Instagram: instagram.com/tworooms__
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-lee-a540aa9a/
Image Credits
Photos by Andre Nuestro
