We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Diamond Dej a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Diamond, 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?
This question is so great because I was just driving home the other night and was thinking, “wow, I really have persevered so much in my life!”
I grew up with a rough family background and in parts of St. Louis that were not the safest. This led me to be exposed to many experiences that kids my age at that time shouldn’t have probably been around.
I realized that all those experiences good or bad made me the determined, empathetic and hardworking creative I am today.
I always say that one big goal for me was to become the person that my younger self needed and I think I’ve done exactly that! The younger me would be so proud and joyous to know that I made it through all obstacles and prevailed!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Diamond Dej is more than just my artist name, it’s my personal brand and movement that represents authentic self-expression and independent thought.
I get so excited creating things that will inspire others to be themselves unapologetically and move through the world with confidence and positivity.
Alongside the music I release as an artist, I have a handmade jewelry shop wire-wrapping authentic crystals to wear and harness energy and an online brand that supports how women can successfully navigate spaces in popular current culture.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I have learned so much as a creative who started with a dream and no clue on how to obtain it, to now being able to see my dreams unfold right before my eyes!
There’s 3 main lessons I learned that I will share…
Do it Scared:
I had always knew I wanted to create music since I was little, but as I got older I let other people’s perceptions affect my decisions. I knew I had to move out of my hometown to network and branch out into the songwriting and sync space. I had so much fear of leaving the only place I knew and told myself it wouldn’t work out before I even tried it. Eventually, I had to realize that if I wanted my dream to come true, I would have to do something I never done before.
Break your dream down into small actions:
A lot of the time I had ideas but no plan on actually making them happen. I was always looking at the idea with a wide lens. Once I learned how to zoom in on the process and steps it would take to make the big picture work, the dream seemed more attainable and I was more confident that I could achieve it.
Know what you want then work hard at it:
It’s hard to achieve something when you don’t even know what it is you’re trying to achieve. Before I actually started working on my dreams and goals, I had to get clear on what those were. Without knowing what you want, you’ll struggle to come up with a plan on how to get there. But once you determine what those things are, go hard at it every chance you get!
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
I think the main challenge I’m facing is one that many creatives face and it’s the excitement and motivation to keep going with creating from a healthy place.
As much as creating is fun and collaborative, it’s time consuming and costly. The economy is in a tough spot right now with the rise of inflation, cost of rent, food and other services. When it comes to creative ventures, the money is slow to come in or in some cases won’t come in into you’ve reached a certain status or worked your way up within your career.
I been overcoming the lack of motivation by reminding myself daily why I chose to be a artist and creative in the first place: to inspire authentic self-expression in others. I remember that everything I do creatively has a purpose that is bigger than money, but a movement to give positivity energy to those who need it. That’s what keeps me creating when I don’t feel motivated to do so at times.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://itsdiamonddej.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsdiamonddej/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbt9IXLw2yb_hwiJ7slloCg
- Other: Handmade Jewelry: https://www.instagram.com/shophighervibez/
