We were lucky to catch up with Paul Nguyen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Paul, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Occasionally, I think about what my prospects would be working what you would call a 9-5. The idea of waking up at 7/8, to get ready for my job, and driving into an office to hammer out someone else’s work sounds incredibly miserable. However, the upside to that is that there is structure, benefits, and when that 5 o clock hits, I wash your hands clean and walk away from it. The rest of the day is mine!

That being said, the only time I ever felt that the 9-5 work life was better, was when I didn’t have a clear goal and vision. It’s really frustrating and sort of depressing when you don’t feel like you know where you’re going. All of your energies seem to feel wasted because it’s not directed. Once you know where you’re trying to head, you can build the path to it! To me, its honestly the hardest part. A clear vision is EVERYTHING! Because if you actually knew where to head to, it’s just trial and error. Even at that, there’s a million ways to achieve something. So you just need to execute over and over again.

All of this I feel, is the way to master being a creative. We as creatives love to think outside the box and thrive on freedom, but we just need to master the drawback to freedom. A little bit of incorporated structure to all of that creativity, and I think you’re golden!

Paul, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

So my name is Dj Phon! I had some extra scholarship money from college and was bored so I started DJing in the winter of 2012. With a ton of free time and a genuine curiosity for music I just taught my self how to DJ from YouTube. I used to take whatever gigs I could get but I used each gig to leverage into the next. From free to low paying gigs, I always just did my best to grow from each gig. I took every opportunity to learn and network. Eventually I became a club dj on the daily, but I can really dj any kind of event. I mean you name it, I can do it. If I can’t I will teach myself and make sure I do a good job. Realistically, I think that’s my strongest trait. The hunger to problem solve instead of walking away from a situation is what keeps clients for my business and in turn expands the network. Even if I can’t dj your gig for whatever the reason it may be, I’ll do my best to put the right person in for the job to ensure that you have a successful event.

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

The driving force for myself to keep doing what I do is that I have the chance to change someone’s day/night/week/month/year. You come to a place where I’m DJing and I quite possibly, could make you forget about your current life in the best way possible. Imagine yourself just having an incredibly rough time in life that day or week, you hear your favorite song or set of songs, and you just sing and dance your heart out. In that moment, nothing else really mattered. You just felt good. To me, that’s the most gratifying experience. To even do that to a whole lot of people is even more electric. It’s incredibly primal and I think that that’s why everyone has a soundtrack to their life. It’s just ingrained in who we are as human beings.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I used to think that it was an amazing thing to meet and entertain everyone. Unfortunately as I’ve grown older, I have tend to learn that I have a finite amount of energy. I truly mean that. Think about it, no matter what, we need to physically rest at the end of the day. Similarly, we need emotional rest. I personally have to pick and choose who I give my energies to because as I’ve learned, some people would like to piggy back off of your energy, your help, your time and for some reason, keep themselves entertained in things that aren’t fulfilling. So definitely evaluate your situations and make decisions on whether to invest your time and energy. That wasted energy will add up and it’s up to you to make that energy count for yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: Djphon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djphon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deejayphon