We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Surya Pinto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Surya, thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think it takes a lot to be successful- a support system, grit, a “why” factor that helps you push through, determination, and gratitude are some things that come to mind. Many things shaped me into the person I am today and I’d consider myself successful to me. I think its also important to define YOUR version of success. Oftentimes we see success framed up as an antiquated checklist from a time with, quite frankly, different technology and a different economy. You don’t have to have a super yacht to be successful, unless that’s your measure of success.

I came from scrappy beginnings. Sometimes we were poor. Most times we were ok. We didn’t own our house. We didn’t have the latest clothes or videogames, but we had food on the table and community. My dad got me a phone for my 15th birthday, my first cell. It was one of those slide keyboard phones. He paid the phonebill for one year then afterwards said ok if you want the phone pay it. I started selling homemade brownies in highschool and boom. Employment. Looking back it taught me lessons on how to get what I want when the world doesn’t give it to me. I think that mindset carried through throughout life to give me a strong work ethic.

Like I said success comes in many forms. I’ve had success when I broke my leg and had leg surgery and had to regain muscle and pivot careers. I’ve had success when my art was accepted into a gallery at Anaheim Gardenwalk. I’ve had success when I grew my first herb.
Success can be small wins in life that give you confidence to pursue more, but at the end of the day its whatever you want out of your life. Write it down, work hard, and pivot as things happen because something always happens. Don’t get stuck in a one way approach and the world will be your oyster.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Surya. I work as a Sr Project Manager in the Marketing/Advertising space. I got into my industry by pivoting and treating jobs like paid college. I dropped out of CSULB before my first day! Yay me because activists are still fighting for student loan debts are still fighting to be forgiven. I was working at a coffee shop as a 19 year old trying to figure out my life when my sister sold a car to a women who would change my life. She told my sister she loved her personality and if she wanted a job her work was hiring. My sis said if she liked her she’d like me. And thats how an engineering college dropout ended up as a product developer and account manager in the fashion industry. From fashion to marketing, the transitions aren’t too hard if you keep your options open and learn as you go. My artwork grew as well as I entered more creative spaces.I started selling prints, I finished paintings that I notoriously took forever to finish. Everything in my life grew as I grew as a person.

My life has taken many turns in the past ten years- I’ve broken my leg, I’ve been fired from jobs, I’ve quit jobs, I’ve worked for myself and freelanced, we had a global pandemic, I taught art classes to kids via Zoom for a year (wild!). All ebbs and flows. I like to tell myself if you’re in a valley, the mountain will come again. And when you’re on the mountain top, don’t forget to be grateful because life will always give you another valley,

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFTs really made me laugh. The fact that everyone for a time was googling non fungible tokens. Maybe I’m not open enough in my thinking, maybe I’m a grump, but the whole concepts of NFTs weren’t for me. For me art is about creating and feeling. It’s about liberation. It’s about revolution. It’s about the beauty of creating. When art started becoming money laundering and a digital token you lost me! Obviously it didn’t become the future of art as the fad started, and not everyone thought that way either. I look at is as a funny but questionable moment in history.

Any advice for managing a team?

Be a good person. I think people value authenticity and empathy. Always lead by example. Don’t be afraid to jump in and help when times are hard. A leader who doesn’t help the team isn’t a leader. Know who your team is- know them as people. If they’re not performing as they usually do, ask about them. What’s going on in their life. Unless you’re a business owner, work isn’t life its a way to pay bills. If morale is dipping low, find the actual root cause and address it. It’s not rocket science. We see layoffs happening at massive corporations while CEOs are getting their biggest paychecks. And then we wonder why “quiet quitting ” exists?? It’s a joke. Your team morale is a reflection of how you’re listening to your team’s needs. If its low find the cause! Are people overworked/underpaid? Is work life balance where it should be? Have they worked through a major growth period and have you shown them appreciation? If you’re going to do a pizza party then you better find some funds for a bonus. Treat people well and they’ll make mountains move. Treat people poorly and you’ll be googling what to do for low team morale.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/artbysuri