Nadja Sayej shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Nadja, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Listening to Neville Goddard, Les Brown, Brian Tracy and Bob Proctor. I find these speakers all have profound things to day about navigating the waters of life. They train you how to think to overcome your problems. They also teach you how to be positive in your thinking, which is an essential step in making your dreams come true.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey, my name is Nadja and I am a writer and photographer based in New York City. I love working in the entertainment sector, which is filled with talented artists and creative people, For the past 15 years, I have been interviewing celebrities, artists, actors and directors. I also shoot for a photo agency called Backgrid. I love photographing celebrities because they are in the spotlight of pop culture and they often define the era that we are in. Over time, they will age gracefully (the photos, who knows about the stars, haha).
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Sometimes, when you step up your game, you have to release old patterns. With that, comes relationships that no longer serve you. Any relationship you have in your life (business, family, friends) that won’t allow you to grow and change and elevate from old patterns is no longer serving you and must be left behind if you truly want to grow and change for the better.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
It is easy to give up. It’s much easier than continuing on and trying to make something work. It teaches you to be creative to keep things going. You must apply the same creativity as you do to your actual artwork into how you keep your business afloat. I almost gave up several times, when a book wouldn’t sell or when a video got low views. But it doesn’t matter, as logn as you are following your heart and trying to make your own way with an honest and true message, you truly cannot give up on yourself. Because what else do you have if you give up on your dream? Nothing but empty, faux comfort.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
I would say yes. The public version of me is the real me. Why fake it? I understand being polite, but there is no reason to be someone you are not. I don’t understand why people create a “public persona” as if we cannot tell the difference between who they really are versus who they think they are on the public stage. Okay, actors play roles on screen. That’s different. But don’t show up on social media pretending to be someone you’re not. You come across as a phony. When I ran my YouTube show ArtStars* TV from 2009-2027, I did have people say I had a public persona onscreen, but I was honestly just trying to create interesting video content so people would watch it.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I have not received much praise for anything that I do! Journalism is such a thankless job. I remember the great Canadian art critic, video artist and author, RM Vaughan, once said to me that if you’re not writing about other people, they dissapear. He invited tons of people to his book launch, I recall, and that showed the truth. It was like he did everyone ELSE favors by writing about their artwork, but once he released a work of art, it was crickets. I think you have to expect that, in 2025. Social media has designed our minds to be so self-focused and narcissistic, who cares what anyone else does? Giving back has become a chour. So when it comes to your art and creativity, you have to keep dancing, before and after the music stops playing. I release books because its something I want to do for myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nadjasayej.com/books
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/nadjasayej
Image Credits
ArtStars Books
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