We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Viva Vinson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Viva, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
My journey has been one of constant self-validation and remembrance of what I have overcome and traversed. It is all too easy with ramped social media comparisons to feel like a failure. We can use anything and everything to devalue ourselves, put ourselves down and feel like an imposter. We will use anything. If I don’t have 100,000 followers or if my net worth isn’t a million plus, or if I’m not a size 2. I must always remember that there is no one journey or path that compares to mine. We all walk our own path in our own time and way. To compare one’s path to another is like comparing one snowflake to another, they are individuated and slightly different and so is our journey as individuals. No one will ever live our lives or can ever live our lives the way that we live ours, so there is nothing to compare, just more lights to shine their individuality and unique expression on the planet. The imposter doesn’t exist when we live our unique lives expression. Remember when you want someone else’s life you must accept their who life, not just their brilliance or genius but their heartache, their challenges, their problems. Often, we look at someone else ‘s life and say I want that person’s life without knowing all sides of their existence or life experience, yes maybe they are rich and famous, but they can also be suicidal or broken hearted, or sick, or mentally ill, or several things we don’t see. Our journey is our own. Live it!!!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
VIVA VINSON FOUNDER -VINSON ARTS EDUCATION| VOCALIST | ACTRESS | EDUCATOR | WRITER
Born of an Italian American mother, and African American father, Viva Vinson has always had multiple artistic interests as diverse as her cultural background. Viva is somewhat of a Triple Threat, starting her dance career at age 12, her acting career in her teens, and then later transitioning into music, writing, and performing arts education.
Viva started her acting career at age 16 appearing in such productions as “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”, “A Different World”, “Cop Rock” and the cult-classic “Roadside Prophets”, to name a few .
After taking a hiatus from her acting, Viva rediscovered a deeper joy and passion for music. She turned to a career in Music in 2002 where she made her way to Asia in September 2003, performing at the Island Shangri-La Hong Kong. She spent several years traveling to and from Asia, and has performed at venues such as Post 97, Club 97, Kee Club, The Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, Park 97 Shanghai, Coco Blues Thailand, Sheraton Bangkok, Plaza Anthanee, Le Meriden Bangkok, Harry’s Jazz Club Singapore, Hilton Wangfujing Beijing (Beijing Olympics), The Metropole Sofitel Le Club Jazz Venue, Hanoi Vietnam, The Shangri-La Singapore, Brown Sugar Taipei, and many others.
She has also performed for various corporate clients, including Omega Watches, The Forum, Swarovski Crystal, Park ‘n Shop, Watson’s and many others.
Viva is currently pursuing parallel careers in music, acting, writing and performing arts education. She loves inspiring young artists through arts-education programs and individual instruction. She has also become an arts advocate, reinforcing the importance of Performing Arts Education in Schools.
Viva has worked for artists and producers such as Atea Stefani, Heaven+Earth, Melissa Manchester and many others. She continues to perform locally and overseas when her schedule permits.
She is also currently pursuing her masters degree in music education.
ARTIST WEBSITE https://www.vivavinson.com/
ARTS EDUCATION https://www.vinsonartseducation.com/
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?
Try Things, If and when the opportunity arise, even if they are out of your comfort zone.
Take Risk
Stay Humble (always)
Dont Be Afraid To Fail
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I Pray and Ask for my higher power’s guidance and then I go for a walk. After I take this break things seem to work out in their own way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vivavinson.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivavinson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VivaVinson1/
- Linkedin: vivavinson
- Twitter: vivavinson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VivaVinson
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/vivavinson
- Other: https://www.vinsonartseducation.com/