The Art Of Balance: Welcome To My World

The Art Of Balance: Welcome To My World is taking you into my dressing room and giving a private tour into how I make my busy schedule work, also at the end I give you tips I learned along the way to help you balance out everything you need. I'm giving an exclusive look at what exactly I do and the philosophy of my many visions. 

If life taught me anything it's to live in the moment because once it's gone you can't relive it.

A Day In My Life

There is no denial I'm a workaholic. As a boyfriend, friend, entrepreneur, author, singer, lifestyle blogger and columnist I can struggle with the art of balance. There are moments I feel I don't have enough time nor energy to devote myself to all my passions and responsibilities. My world is 24/7 craziness, but somehow I make sure it works. Running a brand isn't as glamours as it may seem, but it's so worth it. Knowing each project I do will change a life, inspire or help others is rewarding. It's the main reason why I put my heart and soul into everything. I did a layout of how I handle each task I have to conquer while still being able to keep myself grounded.

Photo Shoots

My clock is all over the place and it depends on what is going on that day. I like to have my monthly schedule a week before the month starts and my schedule for the day the night before. I'm way OCD when it comes to being on time because one slip can screw up everything. Usually on a day I have a shoot they start anywhere between 2 am and 5 am-sometimes it can be a full 24 hours before I get any sleep because I always have more to do after it's finished. 

​12:30 am: I wake up this early on the days I have a photo shoot.

2:30 am: The car comes and I head off to the studio. 

3:00 am: I arrive and enter into the dressing room. Outfit choices, hair and makeup takes a great deal of time. The preparation to feel confident in front of the camera requires a great mindset-especially for the perfect shots. Gaining the mindset also takes time on my end. Keeping my focus is vital to the success of any shoot.

4:30 am: Once all is settled the poses and the flashing lights begin. Sometimes I feel I can fall asleep because it gets repetitive-that's my A.D.D talking. Ha-Ha!  No but seriously if I didn't have someone talking to me I would pass out. For laughs the photographer I'm collaborating with will sometimes take shots of me falling asleep. I make them all laugh on set. 

7:30 am: After hours of capturing photos it is time to pick out the best of the collection and give them my okay for the edits to begin.

9:30 am: Roughly this is the time it all ends. Unless we have more shots to capture. I usually get to see the edits a week later and they get sent via email. 

My Philosophy On Photo Shoots: 
Once the silver lights begin to surround me I own every aspect of who I am. I let go of all my insecurities and work the angles of each camera. I become a work of art. Those hours are all about me and as scary as it may seem I face the fear with fierceness. I want my fans to see a different side of me in my photos. Someone who sparks that needed confidence they need or motivation required to give them the best life possible. When I'm the best version of myself the project will turn out exactly the way it's meant to be.

Music

I know I received mixed reviews on how I sound, sing or if I even have musical talent. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I don't agree with it because they don't know my background and I don't need their approval to live my life. They have to put me down because it's to protect their ego.

Making The Demo:
Demos, in my opinion, are a very important part of creating the portrait of any song. There is a lot that goes into it, especially from the artist(s) who is singing and writing the music. For me I write my lyrics and my producers who I collaborate with send me a variety of beats based on the direction of sound I want. As I gave my timeline for photo shoots I ended at 9:30 am-we are going to pick up from there and how I would go about working on a new song.

10:00 am: Checking my emails I download what was sent. I usually receive about 7 rough sounds. I pick the one that speaks to me. I know it's the best by the way my insides feel. I trust my intuition. It takes about an hour of listing before I pick the final. I give my input and while they work on making improvements I start conducting my message. 

11:00 am: I sit and allow my idea to come onto paper. I treat my music different from my poetry. Even though lyrics are based from a poem the way you present it can be different. Music for me when writing is less poetic but more sassy, fierce and empowering; some of my poems can be as well but that is part of my package deal as a person. Ha-Ha! This process can't have a time limit because it will come as it does and what I usually have written changes when I hit the studio. 

Recording The Music:
My producers always give me the entire night when I am coming into work on our music project. This was the reason it took me so long to find people to work with musically. I didn't just want to enter any studio and feel rushed. In another way of saying this I wasn't looking to do it for the fact of saying I did. There is a lot of trial and error. I always record during the night because you are given the amount of time needed to craft up a song.

11:00 pm: We start with warm ups. I get shown the new edited track and we play around until we all feel it's perfect before entering the recording booth. During this time the process goes by so fast and then we realize it's 7 am. By then we have recorded the vocals, have solid lyrics and a polished beat that all fits together.

​My Philosophy On Music:
It's rather simple, my sound can be stated as trashy dance pop music you love or hate. Written to empower others with confidence and about being a man's worst nightmare. My sound isn't for everyone, but that's the reason why I do it. When I feel it is time to evolve I will. I really enjoy creating a song I know my fans will love. I know not everyone will take me serious as a singer, but I'm a performer and I was born to put on a good show. I'm having the time of my life creating music and I'm here to stay. If you haven't had the chance be sure to check out my new single, Good For The Ego. I proudly have to say on the day it was released before 2am the popularity bar was filled and iTunes gave my song a star next to it.

Writing

My whole career has always been about writing and it will always be. When it's time to work on my books, blog posts, columns and any other writing endevors I feel like I'm where I truly belong. It's the core of my career and the passion behind who I am.

The Work Day Starts:
My number one rule for writing is I can't have anything else going on such as meetings, photo shoots, recording studio or life situations because I become very anxious if I can't focus, then I can turn into a major bitch. Ha-Ha! A majority of my time is spent working on my writing, thinking about my writing, editing or reading. It never ends. There really isn't much to explain as well but I do have a strict schedule for it.

5:00am: I usually am awake by this time and I take about an hour to myself before I do anything. That is the case for me everyday, I know stated in previous blog posts about how I spend an hour or so every morning practicing gratitude; I never miss a day doing my exercises or I will feel off balance. 

6:00am: I can either write in a notebook or on my computer. It all depends on what I am working on, how I feel or what the project is. Of course my major project is my novel series. It takes a huge chuck of my days. It's not as easy as people think and it takes a lot of time to finish all that goes into it; even more so after the project is finished. Another thing is I can't work on more than one writing project a day for example if I am working on a blog post I won't write in my series or do anything with it. If it is for my columns I won't even worry about my blog. If I am working on my series don't even ask me to do anything else because you'll be ignored. Writing days are my favorite because it's basically half a day. I always seem to wrap the writing part up by 12:00pm. 

My Philosophy On Writing:
Writing is every piece of me mixed with a wide range of emotions. It usually reflects my mouth I never know what's going to come out. Everything I have to say comes with a great message in the end. I speak from my heart and soul. I take my writing very serious but it's so fun to be a writer. It's my purpose in life and I'm enjoying the ride. Being able to share my words with everyone is truly a huge blessing I don't take for granted and I'm so thankful for.

Family, Boyfriend, Friends & Everything Between

Spending time with the people I love really makes me happy but my family I can give or take. Ha-Ha! I'm joking. Being with my boyfriend is everything to me. He and I are very simple people, well I'm not that simple or even simple at all but he is. My family is a reality show hot mess-when everyone gets together cameras should be there-same goes with friends. Three of my best friends have been with me my whole life. Sam has since I was a toddler, Jessica has been since the year I started pre-school and Marnie I met in first grade. They're like sisters to me. Amazing people came after who I adore as well but with my crazy work schedule and of course they have their own lives times have changed where it's not easy to get everyone together. I do love me time though. Nothing comes between me time.

​I make the best out of what time I do have. Being I don't live in the same area as them it's even harder to see everyone. With friends I try to get a night out for dinner, a visit at their homes or a bookstore trip when I am in my hometown. I never miss a family party or holiday and I spend time with them as often as I can. Of course my boyfriend and I spend the most time together. It's just natural when love of that kind comes into your life. Work does pull both of us in a million different directions, but with what time we do have we make it the best. Whoever I'm with I give them my full attention. When it comes to tiny tasks about my work such as meetings I always make sure I get them in at the same day and if I can't the same week. Last but not least me time comes whenever I really need a day to myself. I try to have one of those at least once a month. 

​My Philosophy:
Life can't be all about you, you, you and what you do. You have to make room for others. It took me sometime to learn that. I use to throw myself into work to forget about feeling lonely before I met my boyfriend when I could have been learning to accept myself and enjoy that time-I now learned and am very content with who I am. I would cancel plans with close friends because I was so tired from working all the time. That changed because I make sure I have me time at least once a month to regroup myself. I am with the people I love most such as my boyfriend and family, have things I enjoy doing alone and when I get to see my friends I make the most out of it. If life taught me anything it's to live in the moment because once it's gone you can't relive it.

Tips

A simple list really but important things for you to think about when it comes to balancing out a hectic life.

• Stick to a daily routine. Try your best to figure out a way to have one structure in your everyday life tasks. Buying a planner or writing down things you do will help give you a clearer vision of habits or the norm in your life.
• When it comes to work take on one or two projects at a time for that giving day. Be fearless when it comes to saying, "No."  You're not going to miss out on anything if you can't do it. Remember more opportunities arise everyday.
• Find time for some headspace. Having "Me Time" is vital to a well sought out mind-take time to yourself. Less social media focus more on reading books. Getting out for a few minutes to walk can also help in many ways. Download meditation apps that give you a plan and helps you center your mind, body and soul. There are many options out there find the one that works best for you. 
• Remember time with loved ones is limited and very important. Be in the moment with them. Enjoy the day as is. Also, when you feel like your life is busy take time to check in on those you care about. Let them know you're thinking of them. 

I hope this blog post shared what I wanted in the hope of helping you balance out your life. As you can see it does not matter who you are or what you do to make a living we are all busy. Life goes by so fast and it's important to be mindful of your surroundings. Thank you for reading and be sure to follow for all the latest updates.

​Much love,