We recently connected with J Rod Wald and have shared our conversation below.

Hi J Rod, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I decided to go to college. That’s where I realized that my clock was running out before I had to grow up. That forced me to get serious about music as well as my career as an artist. But I remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting in a history class my freshman year of college, and I was not paying attention. All I could think about was bright lights and sold out shows, and I was so convicted with a vision that I believed God had put on my heart. Since then, I have been very serious about how I can make my dreams come to life.

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

I am J Rod Wald, a singer/songwriter from Hobart, Oklahoma.

I knew that I always had a creative mind. I had been drawing pictures since I was 3 years old- and if you don’t believe that, you can ask my mom because she has them all stashed away. All my life I grew up in a family that was passionate about the sport of football. With four older brothers, and a father who was a head football coach at the highschool in town, I always wanted to be a football player. But I had a problem: my right knee had multiple bone infections and I had snapped my femur three times by the time I turned 14. So, when I knew football wasn’t in the cards, I found other ways to be creative. But it all really started when my oldest brother brought home a guitar from college. I was in awe. I knew that is what I wanted to do.

What sets me apart from others is my willingness to be bad at something. I know that no one starts out great, but I am driven enough to start and get better along the way. I also pride myself in how hard I will work for my career. The sacrifices that I make, the nights that I stay in, the early morning writing sessions, they will all pay off and I know they will.

I have music released right now on all platforms, with my debut single “Oklahoma Girl” just surpassing 50,000 streams across all platforms.

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

Just a few months ago, I had a friend tell me about the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. When I tell you this book changed my life, I mean it. Before the book my time management was horrible, I had rough communication skills, and I was terrible at keeping up with my schedule.

The book stresses the importance of habits, and how great things can be built by small blocks over an extended period of time. It honestly helped me become more comfortable as an artist as well.

I highly recommend anyone reading this to go purchase a copy and read it. Learn it inside and out. It will change your life.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my social media audience with consistency. For so long, I put off posting content. Afraid of what others might think, might say. But then I realized- I am the only one in control of my destiny. And since social media pretty much runs the music industry right now, I better post at least once a day. After doing this, I gained 15,000 new followers in just a year.

Advice to those wanting to start a social media. POST and do not think of what others will think. Consistency is key, make sure you are interacting with your audience. If you do something everyday to gain a follower, you are closer to your goal than you were before. Post like your life depends on it and you will see results. Also, have FUN with it. It isn’t supposed to feel like a job, so don’t treat it like one. If you aren’t having fun posting you are doing it wrong.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jrodwaldmusic.com
• Instagram: jrodwald
• Facebook: J Rod Wald
• Twitter: jrod_wald
• Youtube: J Rod Wald
• Other: Tik Tok: jrod_wald

Image Credits

Ethan Franklin
@opacityskymedia