We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicky Ruan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nicky, so excited to have you with us today and we are really interested in hearing your thoughts about how folks can develop their empathy? In our experience, most folks want to be empathic towards others, but in a world where we are often only surrounded by people who are very similar to us, it can sometimes be a challenge to develop empathy for others who might not be as similar to us. Any thoughts or advice?
I lost my father to cancer when I was 7 years old. My mother later re-married to a guy who, for over a decade, abused us. Growing up, I’ve also witnessed other unfortunate events amongst my extended family. Affairs, divorce, domestic violence, death, you name it. It’s not overdramatic to say that I’ve seen the darkest side of human nature. It makes me appreciate kindness a lot more than many people. It also gives me a special ability to feel and understand other people’s pain and struggles. I don’t ever want to see others going through unnecessary suffering. The best I could do in my power do reduce other people’s pain is to be as empathy as possible.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a line producer who mainly works on documentaries. It’s no typical 9-5 job; my hours are always crazy, and things are almost always unpredictable, but I love it. For each and every project, I get to meet and work with new people and learn something I would’ve never known had I chosen a different career path. I’m certainly not the most creative person in a documentary team. I don’t wear any shining titles like the director or EP or cinematographer, but I like taking care of all the loose matters across the whole project and making sure every crew member gets to do their job in the most effective and comfortable way. That said, I certainly wouldn’t mind one day producing my own documentary and potentially even directing it!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Communication is THE number one skill needed to achieve success across all industries. It allows a team to collaborate more effectively, drives good decision-making, and just makes everyone’s life a lot easier. Be confident when you raise your voice, and be patient when listening to others raise theirs. Accept failures at times. We can’t all be winners all the time at the end of the day!
Enjoy what you do. A lot of people underestimate this. Being able to enjoy whatever you are doing isn’t shared by everybody. Enjoy the ups as well as the downs. Because, why bother doing it if otherwise?!
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Not kidding about that documentary I’d like to produce in the previous answer! Looking to connect with any potential crew members: writer, editor, camera operator, sound operator, INVESTOR! Shoot me an email and let’s grab a coffee!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninickyckyrr?igsh=a2Uyd3Q4bXA2MGVu
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickyhonghaoruan/
