We recently connected with Jay Sueños and have shared our conversation below.

Jay, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I believe one of the scariest challenges to face, and one of the biggest risks someone can take on, is choosing to pursue a dream, today. Not tomorrow, when the path seems safe and secure. Not tomorrow, when you’ve finally checked off all those responsibilities and gotten the approval of your peers. Not tomorrow, when time has taken its toll and it’s harder to muster the energy and vigor.

And yet, for so many of us, that is exactly what we are taught. Now, that’s not to say there is no value in being safe. There are certain events in life that really do benefit from being prudent and strategic.
Having a child on the way is not the right time to throw your career away and begin pursuing your dream to paint like Dali. So, excluding those individuals whose responsibilities call for a greater sacrifice to those who are truly dependent, I believe that it is fear that keeps so many of us living on the precipice of what if.
Eternally staring at the blue sky with folded wings.

I finished my bachelor’s degree in the summer of 2018, from Texas Tech, and felt confident in my abilities. My path was laid before me. The 6 figure job, the move to a big and illustrious city, the beautiful and incredible woman by my side. And yet, this capricious dream that had been brewing since the age of 18 beckoned and called. This illusion I held of singing to the ocean of people, and hearing them, with the same intensity of a raging, stormy sea, sing them back to me.

So, I rejected the 6 figure job and the bustling metropolis, grew out my hair, and was blessed to find the lovely Goddess whom I had fell in love with believed in my dreams and my ideals of Courage. By this time, it was late 2019, I had finally learned how to play the guitar. My voice was starting to become something incredible. I was working hard to gather the skills and resources necessary to compete in such a difficult industry. And, then, the pandemic happened.
I am sure 2020 was a hard year for all, so I’ll refrain from adding my own woes to the fire in this article, but to move the story forward, by the time January of 2023 had come along, I was a Commercial Lender for a well-established credit union, and I had sold my soul and passions for the comfort of a decent paycheck and a meager existence. I didn’t sing anymore. In the loss of my passion, I also lost my character, and set my life aflame… my Sweet Lady walk away from my life. The only thing I had at that point were a group of men who have become brothers and mentors to me. Oh, and the hair, I had somehow still kept the hair. The flames didn’t burn that down.

It was in this strange immolated purgatory that life, in its wonderful way of being, slammed doors in my face. I quit the bank that had kept me safe through the struggles of the pandemic, and as I reached the shores of a new phase in life, I a new door opened to me. In April of 2023, I received an opportunity to attend New Mexico Junior College from Dustin Garrett, and go learn the technological side of the music industry. I was asked to come sing for an inaugural Touring band with the promise of a full-ride scholarship for my studies. 11 years after I had begun learning to sing, 6 years after my bachelor’s degree, and 3 years after I had sunk into the sandpit of comfort, Life called me to action. After turning my life into ashes and flames, I went up to the precipice, unfolded my wings, and flew.

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

I got into music I think out of love for singing. There’s always been an instinct pull, I just never developed any of it in my youth. The choir/theatre scene wasn’t my cup of tea. I was more of keen to breaking the law and being belligerent. It was the adrenaline rush. And I think that is what drives me today, I’ve found a healthier and also more rewarding thrill in getting up on stage to thousands of people and leaving everything I have on stage.

I got into the business thank to my scholarship at New Mexico Junior College. I am halfway through a 2 year program learning Music Technology, and I play music all around the area as both a solo artist and a band leader. I play a bit of everything, I love to make an audience feel connected and I think playing what they like is a great way of empathizing with them. My original work, which is currently being watered and tendered, is a mixture of Latin and Soul influences, spiked with a healthy dose of Zeppelin inspired aggression and Reggae ambiance.

I believe the one thing that sets me apart is both my biggest weakness and strength. I showed up to the party late. I don’t have a musical upbringing or background. I do this out of pure desire and ambition to make this happen. So I am constantly thinking to myself, how do I approach this new challenge given my limited toolkit, and provide something that can compete with incredibly talented musicians around me. And every time I fail, I smile and stay grateful for a new lesson learned. This kind of sanguine response to pressure is what allows me to leverage what I lack in intrinsic artistic talent. I also sing really really… really loud… like, get some earplugs please. And bring me some too, I need them as well.

The aspect I most proud of is my Courage and Tenacity. It’s these two attributes that helped me gain my full-ride scholarship, form my band, and create the connections that are making my dream come true.

What I want my fans to know is that, to me, it’s all about giving the world All of my Courage and Love. 100% of it. So if I die today, tomorrow, 100 years from now, I can go with a smile on my face knowing I was a flame in a world where so many people are living in fear, loneliness, and anxiety.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The most important one is Faust, the version by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The Faustian bargain is an idea I relate to a lot, given my trouble making adolescence and my experience of the snaring clutches of comfort. But, more than that, the idea of redemption and eternally striving as a source of redemption spoke to my soul at a time when I had set my life completely on fire. One of the last remarks of the poem is “The Eternal Feminine leads on forward”. Now, this isn’t focus on women, but rather the idea of the “Feminine” energy. That which sources life and nurtures us. It is in found in all of us, regardless of Gender.

The reason why I believe that striving is the source of redemption is that by striving to improve and make our world better, we cultivate the environment where this “Feminine” can flourish. And this creates a wonderful symbiotic cycle where the “Masculine” energy acts upon the world, shapes it to fit the needs of community, and creates protection from the elements and aggressors of life.

How does this all relate to entrepreneurship and management? This cycle is what fuels my Service-minded leadership model. By striving onwards for all the people around me, my band, my school mates, my teachers, my friends, they all in return support and continue to build me up as I pursue my dream. They are inspired to show up with excellence because I intentionally do so myself, without asking anything in return.

And maybe, just maybe, my striving will one day redeem me of the fires I caused. Perhaps it won’t, but I can at least prevent them from ever happening again.

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

I love that you ask this. I think the first thing to ask is, what makes something valuable, subjectively?

I begin with subjective, because objectively speaking, an NFT is the same a painting or a piece of music in the Hierarchy of needs from Maslow. If you are starving or don’t have a home, you don’t care about how pretty the Mona Lisa is, or how genius Lily Boulanger’s harmonic structure is. The NFT has the additional consequence of also being in the digital space, so if you don’t have a portal to it, it’s pretty useless.

So, subjectively speaking, what creates value? Supply and Demand, I would say. So, I begin to ask, why is Michelangelo David valuable. The skill to craft it is immaculate. It’s almost not replicable, without serious ability or advance technology. Not everyone can write Bach’s Brandenburg concertos. It’s that pinnacle of ability that limits the Supply. And, if you have a culture with a sensibility to the art form, the Demand. In modern days, we don’t have that same kind of Demand for Bach’s music or Michelangelo’s art.

So to answer your question, as I stand in the present day. The demand for NFTs appears, to me at least, to be quite low. While it may not be replicated, hence the whole Non-Fungible part, who actually cares? And, it terms of Supply. Well, you’re seeing AI generate incredible visual art just in its infancy. Pretty soon, we will be able to request just about anything and receive multiple generative versions of a Cat wearing a Tux singing Sinatra. How “Non-Fungible” will these tokens truly remain. And even more, will we care? Maybe if we live in the Meta Verse we would? But that is a whole other conversation.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @eldreamdejay
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-sueños-3b69727a?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3LFB94GVDfnPU8fB6W3qlw

Image Credits

JC Caamano Productions
Abigail Apricus Photography