Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pete Wiley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Pete, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
For a long time, I didn’t think in terms of “purpose.” I thought in terms of validation. Growing up, I was shy and unsure of myself. I measured my worth by how others responded to me — socially, romantically, creatively. If someone approved, I felt steady. If they didn’t, I felt diminished. That’s an exhausting way to live, because it puts your center of gravity outside of yourself.
Music was one of the first places where I felt something shift. When I was writing songs alone, I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I was trying to understand myself. Later, when I began writing essays and reflecting more deliberately on life, relationships, civility, and meaning, I realized something important: the act of creating wasn’t about performance — it was about integration. It was how I processed the world and who I was becoming within it.
Blocks of Life emerged from that realization. I didn’t wake up one morning and declare a grand mission. It was slower than that. I noticed that the same questions kept appearing in my songs, my essays, my conversations: How do we live intentionally? How do we build a meaningful life? How do we treat each other better? How do we grow without losing ourselves?
At some point, I understood that my purpose wasn’t a single destination — it was a direction. It was to explore those questions honestly, across different creative forms, and invite others into that exploration. Music, writing, video, poetry — they’re all just different languages for the same inquiry.
I didn’t “find” my purpose the way you find a lost object. I grew into it by paying attention to what felt aligned. And every time I create something that reflects what I genuinely believe about living thoughtfully and intentionally, I feel that alignment again.
That’s how I know I’m on the right path.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, there are three qualities that have probably mattered more than anything else: self-awareness, consistency, and the ability to collaborate. The first is self-awareness. For a long time, I created from a place of wanting approval. The shift came when I started asking harder questions of myself — Why am I making this? What do I actually believe? Am I chasing applause or alignment? Developing that level of honesty takes time, and sometimes discomfort, but it changes everything. My advice to anyone early in their journey is to spend as much time understanding yourself as you do sharpening your craft. If you don’t know your values, your work will drift.
The second is consistency. Inspiration is wonderful, but it’s unreliable. What builds a body of work is showing up repeatedly — writing when you don’t feel brilliant, practicing when no one is watching, finishing things even when they’re imperfect. Blocks of Life didn’t emerge from one big moment. It grew from small, repeated acts of effort. Early on, I’d encourage people to build habits rather than chase breakthroughs.
The third is collaboration — and learning how to collaborate well. Especially in music, you have to balance conviction with openness. I write and produce my songs, but I welcome the ideas of the musicians I work with. And in my band Coldstream, I’m contributing to someone else’s vision. Those experiences have taught me to listen, to adapt, and to let go of ego. If you’re early in your path, seek out people who challenge you and elevate you. Growth accelerates when you’re not isolated.
If I had to sum it up, I’d say this: know yourself, show up consistently, and don’t try to do everything alone. Talent matters, but those three qualities are what sustain you over time.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Right now, the biggest challenge isn’t the creative side — it’s everything around it. As a writer and musician, I feel like I’ve grown in the ways I hoped to. I understand more about structure, restraint, collaboration, production. I know what it takes to improve, even when it’s uncomfortable. The creative work is still challenging, but it’s a challenge I welcome because it feels aligned with who I am.
The more difficult side for me is the business infrastructure around creativity — marketing, publishing logistics, social media, press outreach, distribution. Those things don’t naturally energize me in the same way writing a song or drafting an essay does. They aren’t driven by passion; they’re driven by necessity.
But they are necessary.
I’ve had to learn that being a modern independent creative means wearing multiple hats. You can’t just make the art and hope it finds its way. So I’ve approached that side of the work the same way I approached songwriting years ago — by learning deliberately. I study it. I experiment. I try to build systems so it doesn’t feel chaotic. And I remind myself that if I want the work to reach people, this is part of honoring the work.
I don’t think the obstacle is going away. It’s part of the landscape. The goal isn’t to fall in love with marketing — it’s to integrate it in a way that doesn’t erode the integrity of the creative process. I’m still figuring that balance out, but I’m committed to it.
Contact Info:
- Website: blocksoflife.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blocksoflife/
- Facebook: facebook.com/peteblocksoflife
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blocks-of-life/
- Youtube: youtube.com/@blocksoflife9791
- Other: https://linktr.ee/blocksoflife, tiktok.com/@blocks.of.life
