Meet Stuart K Robinson

We were lucky to catch up with Stuart K Robinson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stuart K, 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?

I have always been fascinated by how much of life we miss by fearing to attempt. We believe that courage eradicates all fear, allowing us to move forward in comfort, when in truth, courage and confidence involve moving ahead despite our fears. Using swimming as a metaphor, I decided rather than avoid the pool for fear of drowning, I would learn all I could to become a better lifeguard. Though I couldn’t guarantee i wouldn’t struggle in the water, I knew I had the tools to rescue myself. In concert, I knew if I forgot the lyrics, I was extremely capable of ‘scatting’- utilizing my musicality until the words came to me. In life situations I learned not to fear failure, but to practice ways to transform obstacles into opportunities, Self esteem? Well, when any person knows they have the tools to take action even when terrified, self-esteem follows. Not arrogance; esteem that flows from knowing what you are capable of and what you can accomplish.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

In my youth, I never understood what being an artist meant. Being multi-talented, I searched for a title that would encompass the many roles I longed to take on as a creator. Later in life I realized that once I truly understood WHAT I DO as opposed to the title, I could apply that gift to most any pursuit. That is total liberation. As a result, although a great part of my day is spent running a talent agency, I am continually utilizing my gifts in other ways: motivational speaking, writing, composing, mentoring and more. Everything I touch, beginning with our talent agency, operates on the principle that relationships are more valuable than transactions; that the story is more important than the words; and that the genius is not in the completed art, but in our ability to envision the ‘story’ while gazing at a blank canvas. Where many agents look at a potential client’s resume – what they have done in the past, our company attempts to see the blank canvas of what that artist will become when surrounded by our care. Where others attempt to warn you what can go wrong, and how difficult your endeavors will be, I do my best to focus on what is yet to be- even if it hasn’t been done before. My company, BBR, has recently expanded to New York City, and because every city needs a blank canvas perspective, I anticipate us inevitably filling that space.

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

I was blessed early on with a hunger to learn. If I saw someone playing guitar, I wanted to learn how they did it. Hearing the poetry of the French language, I wanted to speak it. When my local college sends out the upcoming semester of classes available, I want to enroll in them all. I think a passion for education is a priceless quality – even though we clearly can’t learn it all. As Neil Degrasse Tyson once said- (paraphrased) You may not use what you learned, but the way you trained your mind to learn it will serve you again and again.
I find when i am more interested in the person in front of me than myself things go better and more discoveries are made. Sometimes we’re so excited about what we have to contribute, we lose focus on listening. There is so much to discover and create by just being quiet. I call it “shutting up”, meaning closing my mouth and allowing the other person to illuminate and elevate me – thus “up.” Silence, just for a moment, can be a beautiful thing.
I also think it’s important to maintain a beginner’s mind. Just when we think we know it all, there is so much more to learn. Anything we approach as if for the first time benefits from the excitement, lack of demanded outcome, and willingness to fail that inevitably comes from letting go of our preconceived notions and expectations.
No matter what your age, go out and find a swingset – and try experiencing it as if for the first time. See what exhilaration follows!

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Years ago, I stumbled across a book entitled “The Daily Stoic.” It features excerpts from the philosophies of a group of scholars call the Stoics: Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and more. I can’t say I consider myself a stoic, or that all of their philosophies work for me, but I can say I have gained a great deal from the concept of releasing the things that are not within my control. There are passages that address our tendency to expect that life should be easy, causing us to melt down when times get tough. When we embrace the idea that life can be hard, we can then focus on solutions that make our time on the planet as enjoyable as possible. When we let go of the desire to assign blame to others when things go wrong, we can then focus on the cure as opposed to the perpetrator.
These concepts were part of the inspiration for my own book “It All Begins With I”, in which I developed 14 new rules of thinking – not rules for others, but rules for ourselves and how we react to others, to obstacles and challenges.
The amount of time I might previously have spent looking for someone to blame for what happened can now be spent using my resources to shape a better outcome. The moments I’d normally spend lamenting & complaining about a setback, I can use to speak a more desirable result into existence.
Though my choice in life is to be the opposite of stoic – exuberant, emotional, expressive – the daily snippets in that book inspire me to take charge of my own life, creating the shape it takes, and the rewards it brings.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @stuartkcreative
• Facebook: Stuart K Robinson
• Linkedin: Stuart K Robinson

Image Credits

Stuart K Robinson