We were lucky to catch up with Philip Heil recently and have shared our conversation below.
Philip, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
It has taken a LONG time for me to build up my confidence, and trust me, it’s still not at 100. I think as I’ve gotten older and accepted more of my sexuality, my confidence has grown and shown itself in new and different ways. I used to care so much about what everyone thinks and how I could present myself in a way that would “please” other people – you absolutely must ditch that mentality as early on as possible. The biggest thing I have learned that has shifted my confidence and overall mentality is that you simply cannot please everyone, and there will always be people who don’t like you or what you’re doing, and F those people! Getting my nails done and wearing a mix of “men’s” and “women’s” clothes and strutting around in my heels makes me happy, and so does being kind to people and making people laugh and being the “sassy gay friend.” All those things are parts of who I am that make me happy, and I think there’s a direct correlation between being happy and being confident! The second I started doing more of what I wanted because I wanted to, and doing what made me happy for ME and not for other people…baby you can’t tell me NOTHING now!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am the events manager at Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, so under the direction of our hospitality manager I help sell all the event spaces at our distillery. We JUST had our grand reopening on August 15, and it was one hell of a party. The entire team worked hard to pull it off, and we had over 500 people in the building that night with food and drinks everywhere, tattoo artists on site, a photobooth, hand rolled cigars, our branded Nascar driven by Stefan Parsons, and our branded “Whiskey Wagon” that we plan on taking on the road this fall. There are so many exciting things going on at the distillery it’s so hard to get to all of them, but everyone on our team has worked to get through this expansion and I have been honored to be a part of it. The distillery is open 7 days a week for tours and tastings or cocktails at our bar, and lunch Wednesday to Saturday with brunch on Sundays!
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?
a. The three most impactful qualities / skills / areas of knowledge I can think of are: 1. Always be kind to everyone. This should be a given, but you never know who you are going to meet that could change your life / career trajectory in an instant and being kind and building good relationships is essential in making sure you don’t miss out on key connections. 2. Take time to research what others in your field are doing. If you can get a competitive advantage in an interview, or bring a new idea to your place of work because you’re paying attention to what other people are doing, it can make all the difference. And I’m not talking about idea snatching here, but if you see another person / company / brand doing something that works well for them, figure out how to implement a similar idea in your workplace that fits your environment, and it could completely change the game. 3. Maintain your work / life balance. Working hard is important, but taking care of yourself is more important. I used to be such a “yes man” and would wear myself out going out all the time or making work commitments that would keep me from taking time off to just relax, and I hit a breaking point with that. Learning how to balance hard work and self-care is crucial to avoiding burnout. My best advice for folks who are early on in their journey is this: be unapologetically yourself and take in everything around you. Listening and paying attention to everything possible in your environment could potentially clue you in to new opportunities and places to fit yourself in, and if you’re bringing all of YOU to the table – your personality, skills, style, etc. – the right people will take note of that and want you around to share that.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Hands down my mother has been the most helpful in building every single bit of the person you see today. She is my number one fan, and always has been, even when I haven’t necessarily deserved it. Being a single mom for a good portion of my early childhood, it felt sometimes like it was us against the world. And don’t get me wrong, my dad and my stepdad have played very important roles in my growth and development, and I love them to the moon and back, but my mom is my best friend. I remember coming out to her when I was in like high school, and her first response was to cry, not because she was upset, but because she was scared for how the world would treat me. When I decided to come out to the rest of my family years later in college, I remember having a conversation with her about how we thought everyone would take it, and I am SO fortunate to have a family that accepted me without question, but I was worried. I have this very clear memory of her saying something like, “if this is worst case scenario, and we have to do holidays alone together, then f*** everyone else and so be it. I’m not going anywhere.” She’s not afraid to tell me when she thinks I’m making a mistake, but she also will be the first one to hype me up and remind everyone “how amazing” I am! My sense of empathy, my confidence, my work ethic (and a lot of my good looks) all come from her, and I have been so grateful to have her support along this crazy 29 year journey of life.
Contact Info:
- Website: greenbrierdistillery.com
- Instagram: @philip_heil / @nelsonsgreenbrier
- Youtube: nelsonsgreenbrier
Image Credits
Drew Maynard – instagram @drewmaynard Danielle Shields – instagram @dspgram
