Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Raul Rodriguez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Raul, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I don’t know what my life would have been like if I didn’t take the risk. To me, the risk was leaving my job and betting on myself. Luckily for me, I had sort of a plan. In hindsight, my plan was weak at best. We all would love to leave a job for a career but if you are not ready to sacrifice and put it all on the line I suggest finding people who have made the transition successfully and even those who have failed and learn as much as possible and let them be your mentors. Take it from me having money to start off in your venture does not make it easier, That was my problem I thought money would be a safety net, but it was not. When you throw money at problems you create an easy fix that leads to other problems

Raul, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Raul Rodriguez, I am a community Television Producer “Total Tejas TV” and I am currently working on a Movie “Mi Reina Y El Rey” a story about me as a teen and the relationship with my Mother, I have always had an interest in Music and TV. I was like all kids, who want to be rock stars and be on TV, but I never thought I would be the one who helps make those things real for others. I started my career at the Art Institute of Houston studying Music and TV business in 1994. This led me to do a TV program “Grito Alternativo” dedicated to the Local Spanish Rock Scene. It expanded to “Alternative Scream TV and Radio” on Houston Media Source for TV, Earthwiire.net, and 90.1 fm KPFT for Radio. to dedicate to all genres and arts. For all those looking to make TV, Movies, and Music, I can help in various ways from production to distribution. I understand not everyone has big budgets for their projects. I can help you find a way to get your project off the ground and find what works for you. I am not a salesman and I don’t make any promises, I just give real-world evaluations and advice. Thanks for taking the time to read my story and if you feel like reaching out to me go for it..

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The most pivot time in my life happened in 1994 after 14 years in the same company, I got the word that they would be moving to a new location in another city. At the same time, things were happening all around me that would play a big role in my next move which for me was starting a new career. This is where the story turns into the paranormal or of a mystical nature. On April 5, 1994, the Band Pink Floyd was in town at the Rice Stadium, I attended the show and my life changed. While standing in the pouring rain listening to the concert I had a vision of myself backstage with the band. I could not believe my eyes, I had never had an experience like this before. I knew that this would be my new direction in life. Like a movie the very next day they hired a professional musician at my work, we didn’t get off to a good start, because before I knew who he was we got into an altercation. I informed one of my co-workers of the incident and he informed me that the new worker was a professional musician. Knowing this I had to find him and apologize for the incident and let him know that I had an interest in the music industry. He let me know that if I was truly interested I would have to start from the bottom and move his equipment I agreed to his amazement. and that night was my introduction to the Music business and my life would never be the same. I can say it was serendipity or God. There is way more to this story but in the interest of time I will save it for my next interview.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Once I decided to go into a new career I had no idea of the hardships that came with that decision. I thought I had a great plan but in retrospect, no it wasn’t. I had money and a vision. at that time my idea of fixing a problem was to throw money at it, I had no idea that that was just a temporary fix. Before I knew it the money was gone and all the problems returned. At this point, I had two options one was to quit and return to a life of working for a company or I had to reevaluate my situation and go harder with my original plans while being homeless and broke. When you decide not to give up God finds a way but that is only if you help yourself you can not give up and expect things to come to you. You have to go out and get them. At the time I felt shame for letting everyone down so I tried my best to hide my problems and just show a happy face. It didn’t take long for me to get back on my feet. I worked in the day as a day laborer yes one of the people at Home Depot, and at night doing gigs in the industry concerts and business meetings. Before long I was a supervisor helping day laborers get work and at night I became one of the most sought-after Audio Visual techs. To the point that I was in charge of all of the President’s G.W. Bush AV. Funny thing when I got to the top I let it all go so I could become a community Television producer. I felt this was the best way to help as many people as possible. There is a lot more to my story but hard work and sacrifice is the bottom line. I started off in one direction and ended in a whole other one so be like water my friend and flow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.totaltejastv.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mi_reina_y_el_rey__shortfilm_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djwoo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-sqJkdmcCnC7bS1WpoWsig
• Other: https://linktr.ee/raulrodiguezfilms?fbclid=IwAR0sUO5spKqzDWCFB4Gt8JR4yINTvM70bN2p6xSj0_RqQbE-9sce5LIZrPw

Image Credits
Mark Rodriguez