We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brian Parsons. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brian below.

Brian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was leaving a 15 year service career with financial stability and job security to pursue a creative career in music and writing.
I knew it would come with financial hardships, rejection, judgment, and doubt. The alternative, however, was remaining in a career that consistently drained me. I was depressed, I was drinking, I was compromising myself, and I was never able to be fully present with the people who I cared about who depended on me.
Imagine being on an airplane and ignoring directives during a depressurization when the oxygen masks are released from the overhead compartments. You struggle to place everyone’s mask on before you take care of yourself, but become incapacitated before you’re able to serve everyone. That was me. I ran on pure exhaustion. Although being in the creative sector has been more time consuming, it’s been a thousand times more fulfilling. Despite the challenges, it has been the most rewarding risk I’ve ever taken.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

You can find my music on any major streaming platform (Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, iHeartRadio, etc), under Citizen Gamble. We are 100% independent and write, record, mix, master, distribute, market, and perform as a self-sufficient in-house operation.
My books, Don’t Bee a Prick and Don’t Bee a Little Prick, are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million.
You can read about my nonprofit organization, Ink Intervention, at InkIntervention.org. We provide Colorado’s first and only mobile laser tattoo removal services to incarcerated Coloradans who are reentering Colorado communities in order to promote employability, prosocial behavior, increased employment percentages, decreased recidivism rates, and enhanced community safety.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, it’s the process.
I read an interview an artist gave one time about releasing music that alluded to songs becoming public domain once they’re released and no longer belonging to the artist who created it. While it’s kind of cool that an artist can perform a song to a crowd of 300 people who will sing the song back to the artist for 300 different reasons, there’s something gratifying to me about sitting in the process and owning a song before anyone else hears it that makes me feel connected to music. It’s the only time the song is free from scrutiny.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I was always told to have a backup plan in case music didn’t work out.
If I could tell my younger self anything it would be that instead of having a Plan B in case Plan A didn’t work out, to align Plan B with Plan A so that Plan A would be successful. Having a plan for when your dream doesn’t pan out doesn’t keep you hungry, motivated, or dedicated to your dream.
Starting over late in life has taught me to be deliberate with my movements. Every effort I make now is in support of my purpose, even if it’s off the beaten path.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://InkIntervention.org
• Instagram: CitizenGamble
• Facebook: CitizenGamble
• Linkedin: BrianParsonsAuthor
• Twitter: CitizenGamble
• Youtube: CitizenGamble
• Soundcloud: Citizen Gamble
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6nuPoA0PJ1id64svoFMBDU?si=WINc6WrsQsub6gykvfODmA

Image Credits

C. Starkey, E. Parsons