Meet Sean Makhuli

We recently connected with Sean Makhuli and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sean, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I don’t know if I could say I have “overcome’ but am definitely in the process of overcoming. Being a largely undiscovered artist it can be tough posting about your music. You have all of these voices telling you you’re not legit. Your music isn’t legit. Your face isn’t legit. You look frumpilicious, other people are putting out better stuff. You’re awkward on camera. The list goes on. But what I have found has helped me overcome imposter syndrome is a concept that Angela Duckworth describes as GRIT. A determination and focus on a goal, and a refusal to be discouraged or removed from reaching the objective in front of you. This means consistency and determination, not only in pushing your music out to the world, but more importantly continuing to work on your music and make it better and better. It means being honest with where you need to grow, but also knowing the God-given gift that is in you and that you were made to do what you are doing. If you have that, nothing and no one can stop you, except yourself.

I have also found, focusing on what I do and getting better at what I do is key. The comparison game will either inflate or deflate you, and neither is good or helpful. Focus on the path in front of you, keep your head down, stay humble, celebrate others genuinely, and realize that what is for you is for you, and what is for others is for others.

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?

My name is Sean Makhuli. I have been making music for a long time now, and recently have found my music even on television, which was a surreal experience. I also actually just put out my debut album “I Wouldn’t Change A Thing”, available on all streaming platforms 🙂

The creation of this album was the most meaningful, painful, and joyful experience of music-making I have ever had. Because for me this is more than music, it’s truly my life and represents a very real pain, and a very real hope in that pain. In finally getting this out there my hope more than anything is it might help someone who is in a situation where they have experienced some sort of pain or loss in their lives, especially the loss of loved ones, whether that be through relational issues, estrangement, health issues, death, distance, and everything in between. I definitely made this album for myself, but if you fit in any of those categories I made this album especially for you. The whole album is my journey through a very real pain that I am still walking through tbh, but I have found it’s better out than in.

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?

I think the three most important qualities I have seen thus far in my journey have absolutely been:

1. Consistency: You have to keep working on what you do. It is the only way you get better, find your voice, and figure out how to say what you’re trying to say. There is no replacement for this. NONE.

2. Focus: You can’t be all over the place all of the time. You’re not going to get anywhere, trust me. Ask yourself the hard questions, get to the knitty gritty of who you are and what kind of artist you want to be, and once you start to uncover that make intentional time to dig into whatever that is.

3. Humility: Don’t compare. Don’t think you know everything. I still have such a long way to go, but I feel like I have seen things progress in my life and career as I learn to lean on people that are way better at things than me. Know your strengths, but I would say more importantly, know your weaknesses, and find people to partner with who can be strength for you in those areas. Also, don’t use people, be honest, don’t always be looking for an advantage. People can feel when you’re doing that crap. Make sure you’re looking people in the eye, getting to know them, seeing them as people, not just wanting to get things out of them.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

GRIT by Angela Duckworth was a super powerful read for me in the last year. I love seeing hard data and facts that support things, and she shows how much more consistency and hard work matter than talent. Many people are talented, but not many people want to put in the days, weeks, months, years to do something actually great. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone.

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