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

Flo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

There’s so much that my parents taught us, but if I have to pick one that comes to mind it’s this: they taught us to work hard. That if we aim to be the best that we can be, then nothing can stop us or get in our way. You can reach for the stars and knock down doors when you’re equipped, when you’re ready for opportunities, and have done the hard work to prepare and get yourself to where you want to be. Even the most simplistic stuff like not giving us an allowance but instead having my siblings and I work for money (things like delivering papers in the neighbourhood) made us REALLY appreciate the money we earned and not take things for granted. Let’s keep it real, it wasn’t fun waking up early in the morning to deliver newspapers/flyers, or deal with the freezing cold of snow, cold downpour of rain, or be dripping with sweat in the heat. Rain or shine, the work had to be done. But hey, it created work ethic, discipline, and gratitude.
The working hard doesn’t stop there, academically my Dad for example pushed us to be as close to the top as possible. If we would come home with an A or A-, he’d be like “Where’s the A +?”. He taught us that if you have a sharp mind, no matter what your ethnicity, gender, or disability, nobody can shut doors on you if you’re at the top of your class and qualified. So he also taught us hard work in that area. If a subject was hard for us, we learned from him to ask the teacher for help and stay after class or come earlier than the class to get help from the teacher, or take a college course that breaks down the tough kinks so that we could understand and ace the college exam. We learned how to STUDY and work hard in the areas that didn’t naturally come to us, and it really did make a difference. It makes me think about that conversation about nature vs nurture. That some people are naturally gifted in areas and don’t have to work as hard. BUT those who might not be as naturally inclined, with hard work and discipline can still get right to the top and sit right beside the person who got there in their sleep. So there’s natural things that people are gifted with, but also nurturing things with hard work can get you there too.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a pop/soul artist. My cliche but 100 true description is that music is my heartbeat, and I literally got into this industry because everything I was doing before just didn’t feel right. So I got to a point where I asked myself, what is authentically me? What would make me smile and feel like I’m tasting a slice of heaven and experiencing euphoria? The answer was: MUSIC! So here I am on this journey of doing and living out what I love. Let’s keep it real, it’s definitely not always a cake walk (but then again what in life is? Especially if you’re pursuing your dreams! An olympic athlete who’s working hard to get on the podium to get a gold medal, and a someone in business who dreams of making their way up the ladder to CEO will also say the same thing: the rise up to the top, to see your dreams become a reality ain’t easy), BUT in the end it’s all freaking worth it when you realize that you’re doing WHAT YOU LOVE! And people can see and feel it when you’re doing what you love, it really is a contagious and beautiful thing that everyone should be blessed with experiencing, cause life’s too short to feel the opposite way. I’m most proud of being authentically real with myself and taking the “leap of faith” to do what I love. I’d describe my music and embodying what I love to do: encourage, motivate, uplift, and empower people. Music that I hope brings LIFE, joy, love, truth, message, and of course most importantly: PUMPS YOU UP, and makes you smile!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There are SO MANY rewards to this (but I’m a bit biased because I think it’s the best thing in the world, so keep that in mind)! I think the best way to sum it up is paraphrasing Bob Dylan’s quote, where he wished that everyone would find a career/calling in life where work is like play, that you love it so much that it’s more like being a child in a sandbox! So for me, that’s the reward, do what I love! I’ve worked a job where it was painfully like torture because I hated it so much, it was the absolute WRONG shoe-fit for me (and that’s putting it diplomatically). Life’s too short to be spending most of your waking hours (40 hours a week til retirement, doing what you hate, or at best just tolerate). So how cool is it to find ways to get paid, make a living, and better yet EXCEL at what feels like play? I mean COOOOME OOOOON!!! Another cool aspect? Seeing a creative idea come to life, turning it into a physical product that people love, enjoy, and that impacts lives (and being the vessel that gets the honour and privilege of carrying that through!)! There’s so many more, but I don’t want to leave a giant novel for you!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yeah, I hope to be able to use my platform to make a difference in this world. Two things that really tug on my heart are homelessness and hunger. I’m a FOODIE, so knowing that some people in this city, country, or around the world aren’t guaranteed a meal makes my heart cry. And seeing the amount of homelessness absolutely bugs me. I think that we as human beings all deserve basic necessities: a roof over our heads to keep us warm (or cool during the summers) and protect us, food to nourish our bodies, and clothes on our backs & shoes on our feet. So when I encounter human beings who don’t have that it really saddens me. I want to partner with organizations who help to fight this, to make a difference with this, and help to change lives locally and internationally. I was to be abundantly generous, and involved in humanitarian and philanthropic efforts. Everyone should get the opportunity to LIVE THEIR BEST LIFE, and I want to help to be a part of helping to ensure that with whatever life I can touch.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/flosoul

Image Credits
Brent Andrew Marshall, Brittany Alyse, Joey Senft