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

Mike, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Learning to do the things I do were never overly complicated, being that I’ve always been a quick learner, but I can say that I feel like getting the right information and talking to the right people was rather difficult. As far as music goes, it’s something I’ve always been around, but in regards to seriously taking on artistry I don’t really feel like I had anybody to look to who really was becoming big with the music thing in my area, so really it just took dedication and the confidence to do so. It’s almost like the keys to learning how to really make music and produce and things of that sort were top secret, and nobody really would tell me, but I never let it discourage my passion. I would ask other artists here and there to see what I could find out, but overall I mostly just watched videos until I could conjure together something I felt like was of some worth, a quality piece. I even remember back in high school when I would sit in the closet of my old room and attempt to make songs with iMovie and a pair of beat-up earbuds. Needless to say, it’s definitely been a journey, but the more dedicated I became the easier it became to create and grow. Currently, I’ve become acquainted with countless artists, and now I have my own studio, so when other artists ask me how to grow, how to become more, all I ever tell them is to stick with it, go hard, and start as soon as you can, cause starting sooner is really the only thing really I would’ve done differently. When it comes to modeling, that journey started way later, cause it’s not something I typically would’ve seen myself doing. Growing up, honestly, if you would’ve told me I’d end up being a model too, on top of everything I already had going on, I probably wouldn’t have believed you, but low and behold here I am. That moreso stemmed from me always being heavily into looking nice. I started with being an influencer and getting into brand ambassador work, and I was already into photography so it’s as if I already had a vision when I was on the other side of the lens of the camera the more I got into print. I had modeled a little less for a short period until I realized I really liked runway, so I ended up joining a modeling troupe at my university, and now I do different shows for designers on a somewhat regular basis, so in the end, it all worked itself out, and as of right now I’m signed to an agency as well as being a talent scout. Lastly, a lot of my entrepreneurship opportunities and endeavors started from reconnecting with my uncle on my dad’s side. I got into investing, traveling, as well as a plethora of other things, but really I feel like I’ve always had it in me, it’s just when we reconnected he heavily aided me in trying to harness that energy and turning it into something great. Everything isn’t exactly large scale right now, but I intend to take modeling, music, as well as the businesses I run much further, because perseverance truly is the key.

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

My name is Mike Diamond, otherwise known as The Mike D, and I’m a recording artist, producer, model, and entrepreneur from Williamston NC. I’ve been interested in music my entire life, but modeling comes from working with various clothing brands over time, and my drastic increase in entrepreneurship is largely due to my relationship with my uncle. I currently offer studio time, song features, various business opportunities, as well as brand ambassadorship and promotion through social media. Typically, I assist other artists in perfecting their craft and really finding their sound, as well as providing numerous opportunities to generate passive income for anybody I choose to work with. Being that I’ve had experience in so many different fields I feel like I provide quality insight for clients regardless of their line of work, which I feel like puts me in my own lane, separating me from anybody that I’ve come into contact with thus far. With that being said, I’m currently most proud of my recent success within the world of modeling and constructing my own studio. I’m always looking for new talent and new ways to enlighten myself as well as others, so I think for anybody interested the most I would say about any of my brands is that you’ll always receive a quality experience, and that I’m always looking to grow and expand.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was having a belief system based on the idea that I had to do everything on my own. In my younger years, my mother stressed the importance of being a leader and not a follower, it just so happens that not too many people really have that mentality. Never feeling the need to assimilate into the popular culture created a divide between me and my peers that always ended in me being by myself. I grew up without too many friends, and I was an only child for about seven years, so eventually I came to the conclusion that I was all that I had to depend on, and if I wanted any kind of substantial success I would have to do it without any help from anyone. I still struggle with this mentality today, but now mentally I’m in a space where I understand that to achieve the degree of success in which I seek, I’m going to need a team at some point or another. This truth hadn’t struck me until a few years ago in my early days of entrepreneurship. There were other people in my field that had the success I desired, but one thing they all had in common is that they all had a solid team behind them, something that I lacked. And once this was unveiled to me, it occurred to me that nearly all my role models had a strong support system. Expanding upon this idea, those who also struggle with this mentality, you’re never going to be able to be everybody on your team. The way I explain it to others is that it’s like sports; there’s no way you could win a basketball game by yourself because who would you pass the ball to? It’d be a stifling five-on-one. Although it’s important to be particular with who you interact, the more traction you gain in your field the more important it’s gonna be that you have people to support you, because without it things could quite possibly spin out of control. A good example is with artistry, you have to write, produce, record, promote, create cover art, book shows, manage money, keep track of appointments, and a number of other things. Of course, many are capable of multitasking, but what about when it’s too much? I digress.

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

For me, the most rewarding part of being an artist is being able to inspire other people and to bring attention to my hometown. Williamston NC is a rather small place that nobody really makes it out of. Some people I became closest to as kids were born there and died there, without ever seeing the rest of the world. Growing up I remember seeing all these successful people from other places but nobody quite like me. No kind of representation for Williamston, or the much larger “two-five-two”. My hometown, along with other cities like Rocky Mount or Kinston, are all coupled together under the area code 252. There’s plenty of talent and beautiful minds that live there, there just aren’t many opportunities and revenue, especially for one of the smaller cities like mine, so I make it my business to make sure I represent wherever I go. Rather it be interviews, shows, runways, meetings, anywhere. I represent because somewhere there’s a kid just like me with nobody to look to, and I want to be able to show them that they can do it too, cause I did. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of inspiration to change things, and that’s exactly what I seek to do. Even if I can’t be the one to resuscitate the area in a way that brings new money and new opportunities, at the very least I’d like to have a hand in inspiring the person that does. I feel like one really can’t even call themselves an artist if they don’t inspire somebody else.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_therealmiked/
• Linkedin: https://linkfly.to/302282XWIOA