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

Eki Shola, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I grew up in a musical family and my mother started teaching me piano at age 4. My first introduction to jazz was years later as a premed student at Cornell University, where I played vibraphone in the jazz Lab Ensemble. During medical school and residency I started making beats and writing songs whenever I had free time. Even though I began formal classical piano instruction at a young age, it wasn’t until 30 years later with the unexpected passing of my mother, that grief became the instrumental teacher. Creating music became a necessity. A universal language to communicate and help heal, music has allowed me to express and share all emotions and extend an invitation to listeners to do the same. My mother, Hope, and her untimely transition illuminated my calling of healing beyond medicine. As I’ve written in one song, “grief is a gift”. The memory of her strength and love carried me through the pain of loss and simultaneously birthed a sense of renewed spirit, fortitude and meaning.

On October 8, 2017, my family and I fled our burning home and drove through flames to escape the devastating Sonoma County wildfires. We lost everything that night, including the clinic I worked at. For the next 5 weeks as we shuffled across various hotels as we tried to look for a rental home, all I wanted to do was write music. I purchased a laptop and started writing new song with Ableton and within weeks collaborated with friends and various organizations to put on a concert for our first-responders and community service members along with collaborating with other musicians to do a benefit concert to raise funds for youth who had lost their instruments in the wildfires. It was at this point, that I decided to do music full-time although. The wildfires literally sparked the courage within me to take a career leap and embrace music wholeheartedly. Moreover, over the years I have been able to create the perfect career melding my 3 interests of music, medicine and travel!

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.

Three things I want you to know: 1. Create and follow your own story. A crisis can force you to reassess what your purpose in life is and make you reflect on whose journey you are following. Are you abiding by someone else’s expectations? I have learned it’s okay to take some space to create more clarity and I am creating and following my journey which feels the most truthful for me.

2 . Don’t wait for anyone to give you permission to explore and follow your passion. Nobody told me to leave a full-time job in medicine to pursue music. I had to give myself permission. I lost my home, recording studio and the clinic I used to work at due to wildfires and this is what inspired me to fully commit to developing a professional music career. Now I balance both careers and on my own terms.

3 . Don’t give up! I graduated from Cornell University which was academically rigorous, and my college experience really reinforced how to be self-reliant yet know when to seek the right support. Ignore the negativity and remember, there are multiple paths to a particular goal.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

All of Tama Kieves books

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Please watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hPtaHFbi78

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ekishola.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ekisholaartist
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ekishola
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eki-shola-edwards-md-dipablm-dipiblm-2974b0175/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EkiShola

Image Credits
Jason Baldwin CT Francesco Echo Andy Strong Seiichi Sudo