Meet Rob Rodrigues

We recently connected with Rob Rodrigues and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rob, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

As a brand partner with the role of Creative Director at ALL ONE UNIVERSE, I tap into my lifelong desire to set myself apart from the mainstream through projects that foster a unique perspective of the world. As with all things related to the arts and design, this takes finding satisfaction in your endeavors even when your creations are not currently gaining recognition or embodying mass-appeal. A sincere belief in yourself will ultimately allow you to shine through what you make, create or build.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

As a driving force behind ALL ONE, I manage several roles for the brand. I handle website design and management, product design and production as well as occasional photography and video projects. I see these responsibilities as a gift, not a burden. We are currently a small tight run operation, having the chance to understand the workings of what goes on behind the scenes is where I thrive. Acquiring all of these skills and developing them further through my involvement with ALL ONE has also opened up other opportunities for me creatively and professionally.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

AGENCY – “Agency is the tendency to initiate action towards a goal without outside prompting, instruction, or permission.” – Devon Eriksen
Agency is a term I’ve been hearing a lot lately, the meaning in this context may seem elementary and obvious, but as creators, I think we can always use gentle reminders to keep focused on our goals and what sets us apart from others. Looking back, Agency is a quality I started developing as a teenager while skateboarding and playing music in bands.

TAKING NOTE. As we go through our daily life, noticing details around us in the physical world is a quality that has always been important to me. This could be as simple as taking interest in a unique sound or texture, something that many people would not take note of or maybe have any interest in. I always keep a digital inspiration folder, it is filled with photos, sound recordings and words, things that strike me as unique or thought provoking. From here comes, many ideas for design and products.

TENACITY (in the positive sense, while still having flexible qualities to adapt to change).
“All Overnight Success Takes About 10 Years” – Jeff Bezos.
This means it often takes a long time and hard work to achieve what seems like a sudden success.

I recommend: “Creative Visualization: Use the Power Of Your Imagination To Create What You Want In Your Life” – This book by Shakti Gawain is great to keep on hand as a source of inspiration. I read it many years ago and recently downloaded the updated version, I was delighted to reread it and found it to still be very relevant.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

This is a great question. We all come from different backgrounds and family dynamics, hopefully this contributes to the strengths we develop.

Both of my parents were raised in NYC, my father moved to the United States from rural Portugal when he was 12 years old. My parents are both from working class families, they were expected to finish high-school and go straight into the workforce.

My father went into the army when he was 18, when he completed his military service, he married my mother. They moved the family to Miami Florida when I was 7 years old with the vision of going to college as adults while raising a family. This extended into my teenage years and at the time was a source of frustration for me as I lacked the understanding to grasp their long-term goals of achieving a level of education higher than that of their previous generation.

Even with the constant struggles of balancing work, study and family, they were always supportive of my pursuits, frequently driving me and my friends all over Florida to attend skateboard contests. They also recognized and encouraged my artistic inclinations.

My mother completed her undergraduate degree and had a long career as a top administrator for several Deans at three different universities. My father went on to complete his PhD and took a University position teaching Business Management. At the time of his retirement, he had published three textbooks and several articles on International Business Management.

As I became an adult and matured, I realized that in retrospect, this was a powerful lesson on vision and resilience.

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