We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John Presnell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
John, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
By recognizing there’s joy in creativity. I think the moment one becomes overly serious about things is the moment they begin to lose. My philosophy is that life is a game, and like any game there is opposition and obstacle. Sure, play to win, but don’t take it all so seriously! Light things float, heavy things fall.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to be an artist than now – there’s so much to draw from! And while I occasionally write a song based on my experiences, I’m far more interested in the world around us. There are injustices I’d like to see addressed and sacred cows I’d like to see served on a bun. I think humor and healing are the foundation of my musical output.
I just released a new music video, “Nursing Your Shadow,” and the reaction to it has been overwhelmingly positive. Also, after years of focusing solely on songwriting, I’ve now got my eye on performing – and regularly so this coming year.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think it’s best to keep in mind that all art is communication, and so clarity is important, even if your particular style is surreal or abstract! However, like anything, it takes time to do so with confidence. Don’t rush and don’t get frustrated, you’ll get there when you get there. As the saying goes, “life is a journey.” Conversely, if you don’t have a journey then you don’t have a life.
Also, it’s the rare person who succeeds right out of the gate, and if they do it’s seldom sustained, so be willing to get a job – an honest job – to pay the rent. It may take a long time until you find the success you want. There’s nothing worse for creativity than worrying about the bills.
Lastly, one needs to define success for themselves. You may start out by imitating others and wanting what others have achieved, but if you’re not honest with yourself, then you will arrive at an unhappy place. Play the game but don’t let the game play you. In other words, don’t let others tell you what success is.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Go all in on your strengths. At a time when there’s a glut of art the most important thing is to stand out, and to do that you must play up what makes you unique. If you can be different yet authentic, people will notice.
As for improving on your weaknesses, by all means do so. As Bob Dylan sang, “he not busy being born is busy dying.” Nothing in this universe is static, and expansion – not contraction – guarantees success.
Contact Info:
- Website: johnpresnell.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLM6GEMGmzgsby89uF2WafA/playlists
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnpresnellmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnpresnellmusic/
Image Credits
Photos by Benjamin Wolf, except photo at window, taken by Gino Alejandro.
