Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Leal.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ryan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m an artist and a poet. I started taking art creation and song-writing seriously in the early half of 2018. I dabbled with both crafts inconsistently during high school (attending Hightower High School, Waltrip High, and Pasadena Memorial ), although I never really dug into those crafts until recently. I didn’t realize the potential I had back then. But through my intuition, I knew I was supposed to do something big while I was on this Earth. So after graduating high school, just like any other kid who plans to “Be Someone” in life, I went straight into college to get my “general studies” out of the way. I passed a few classes, dropped a few classes, got the college experience, got into a little student debt that still affects me six years later, and after two years of college, I stepped away to decide which direction I really wanted to go. I didn’t wanna be apart of the 53% of college graduates who didn’t get a job in the field in which they graduated in. Also, I didn’t mind taking a few risks while I was young, I think everyone should. You can’t do it when you’re older with more responsibilities so I took advantage of my youth.
I’ve been waiting tables since 2014, but while doing that, I got into network marketing for a travel company, in which I owned my own travel business that led to me going on 14 vacations in 3 years to places like Miami, Mexico, Orlando, Vegas, Baltimore, and a few other cool places. Essentially, this was an important time of my life because I got to LIVE and see the world and different cultures outside of Texas, which did a LOT for me. It made me realize that traveling never gets old. The world is too big. I kept that mentality and will probably always enjoy traveling, I just got back from Puerto Rico, which was probably my favorite trip so far. Another thing, getting into marketing at age 19 was a game-changer. It was a commission-based compensation plan so I really had to hustle. There were so many lessons that came along in the process, such as: handling rejection, improvement of work ethic, setting priorities, managing time wisely, how to budget money, talking to people in an effective way, becoming more organized, having vision for where you’re going, even learning the ins and outs of digital/social media marketing.
I feel that I still use all of these attributes today, and they’ve been key to my progression as an artist.
I was really building some momentum in the travel industry until life shook me up a bit. I still remember where I was. It was Spring 2018, and I was asleep on the couch. My mom comes and sits next to me, wakes me up, and says she just received a call about Rosa. Rosa is my sister. We aren’t blood-related, but we have siblings that ARE blood-related, so we’ve always seen each other as brother and sister. She’s my older sister by six years when we lived together, she took care of me and the other younger siblings when the parents were out. She used to make sure I got up for school and got on my bus on time. As everyone got older, we all lived in separate places and saw each other less, but we made sure we got together for a few beers every once in a while. My mom woke me up and told me Rosa had just took her life away. I was half-asleep still, all I could remember is saying “NO” and pulling my blanket over my head. It took me a few days for it to actually HIT me that this person that I grew up with was no longer here. She was only 29.
Two days after I got that news, I got a text from my dad saying my grandfather just passed away. I knew right away it was gonna be a long week/month/year. Also, the timing of everything told me something bigger was taking place. I went to 2 funeral events in one day. On a Wednesday morning, I carried my grandfather’s casket to his burial spot and watched them lower him into the ground. I saw my father grieve from losing the only parent he had left. That SAME night, I went to the mass for my sister and watched them close the casket on her before she would be cremated. I don’t think I’ve witnessed so many people cry in one single day. I made it through that day, but the following weeks were unbearable.
At the time, I was working at EddieV’s, a fine-dining restaurant that I had worked my way into by being a good server at Olive Garden. Working in fine-dining restaurants, you have to be able to handle high-stress work environments in order to keep your job. Well on my first day of returning to work, two days after the funerals, I was carrying empty wine glasses on a drink tray and was so “in my head” that I couldn’t focus on work. While I was turning to start walking to the kitchen, one of the wine glasses tipped over onto the counter, which was right behind a table with a family of 6 who had just received their main courses. That wine glass shattered into pieces and landed inside one of the lady’s hair, onto some of their clothes, and into some of their plates of food. Anxiety instantly took over and I froze, before going to alert our management. We cleaned up the mess and got them new plates of food. The family was very forgiving, as were the management because they know I don’t usually make those kinds of mistakes. Even though the money was getting really good at that job, I realized I couldn’t work in a high-stress place at that moment in time and I put in my two weeks the next day. I knew I would be a liability to business there and I also wanted something less stressful until I healed from everything.
Thankfully, once you work in fine-dining you can get hired pretty much in any restaurant, so I went to go work at Pappadeaux with my brother Kyle. Staying close to some real ones during hard times is always gonna be beneficial so that was a cool change of scenery, but financially it was a downgrade. There was one week where the manager who makes the schedules went on vacation. Before going on vacation, she FORGOT to put me on the schedule for the next two weeks. I was already not getting paid well because the three weeks training process only pays minimum wage. Needless to say, I was very much behind on bills during this time. When things aren’t financially secure, that can put a lot of stress on your mind.
On top of that, I was dealing with an extremely toxic relationship and she eventually disappeared too. All of this was taking place less than a month after the funerals happened. I was starting to lose it, honestly. I remember waking up every day and immediately wishing it was time to go to bed. It was that kind of feeling. I remember having to force myself to eat and when I did, I’d have to scrape together whatever coins I could find to purchase meals. I didn’t turn to drugs cause I knew I didn’t have enough money maintain those habits anyways. The pain was growing and I didn’t know what to do.
Life is all about decisions guys. Sometimes you’re faced with a “fork in the road” situation where you can either go “THIS way or THAT way.” Give up, or go forward. These decisions are what directs your future in a big way. So instead of checking out/giving up, I decided to try meditation. On the first day of meditation, I felt better. On the 4th day, I knew there was something to this and I needed to keep doing it. On about day 8-9, the pain didn’t feel as painful anymore. Around days 15-16, the meditations got easier and I was able to do them longer. Around days 22-23 of meditation, I heard a voice in my head speak to me. I became really in tune with myself as a person during those days. The voice was telling me that I’ve already “MADE IT.” Like it was assuring me that success is lined up for me, as long as I do the work. This allowed me to “TRUST THE PROCESS” and released a lot of stress. It also told me that I need to let go of “FEAR,” because it’ll only cause you to slow down and cause you to settle into a field or job you don’t even really love. So I listened to my intuition, and I let go.
I remember one day I was scrolling through Instagram, a month after the funerals, I got deeply inspired by a female artist who was using social media to market her art. @Houston_Artist is her Instagram, she’s really talented so check her out. I told myself “I can do that too.” That’s when I bought a new sketchbook and a set of pencils and went ALL-IN with art. My first drawing was James Harden since I’m a huge Rockets fan, and it came out better than I had expected. Then I drew J. Cole since I’m really big on poetry/music. Now it’s a year and a half later, and I’ve completed over 40 different pieces of art, many of which have been in art shows and helped my bank account grow. Although the money is great, I learned it’s how the art makes people feel, that’s when I do my best work. The art has gotten better and better after every piece. I play with different mediums, varying from pencil drawings, to colored marker art drawings, to full-sized acrylic paintings, and most recently learning how to do tattoos.
Also, during that time, letting go of that fear allowed me to build the courage to post my spoken-word poetry onto social media. From there, I started to make actual songs with my poetry, with beats from YouTube or from friend’s instrumental creations. Now I have a solid set of about ten finished songs that I’ve been performing at various music/poetry spots around the Houston area. As time went on, my lyrics created a lot of buzz during live performances, and on social media. I was even invited to open upstage for a successful Houston rapper who goes by the name of K-Rino, who has millions of views on YouTube. My most memorable and meaningful achievements music-wise were some of the reactions I would get from people. I remember when someone from my friend Carin’s apartment heard us recording a song we created called “TODAY,” where we talk about appreciating the moment and living for today. That person came up to the apartment we were in and wanted to thank us for making his whole day better through that song. That same song was posted on my social media and one of my high school friends messaged me to tell me that her friend had just heard my song right before committing suicide. The song helped her change her mind and she’s still alive today. That’s when I found my purpose folks. That’s how I got here, and believe me the journey is just. getting. started.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I can’t say it’s been smooth sailing. It seems to always be one thing after another. But in my perspective, that’s life. I have a place to sleep, food to eat always had a job to earn money, and a huge family. I’m more than blessed. Yes, it can be a challenge at times, but nobody ever said success would be easy. In the words of ‘Uncle George’ from the ATL movie, “It’s all just feelings man. From friends to females, to funerals, it’s all about the feelings.” If you’re anything like me, you’re driven by feelings. In other words, you’re really passionate. The things that matter to you, REALLY matter to you. So you can’t just turn the feelings off, but you can redirect that energy. It’s like they told us back in science class, “Energy is never destroyed, only transferred.” And that’s what I think I did. When I was faced to deal with someone who was toxic for me. Or with the passing of a loved one or some other negative emotional response, I used those experiences as fuel to get better. I took all those negative emotions and expressed them through a masterpiece on a canvas, or a story in a poem. Without the obstacles, there would be no real story to tell. There would be no character development or growth.
One struggle every young artist/entrepreneur will face at some point is the anxiety of being unsure of where you’re going, and sometimes this gets heavy. You will question yourself over and over again. You will wonder if you’re wasting your time. You will constantly be learning, adapting, and re-evaluating your plans. You will wonder if what you’re doing is all gonna be worth it in the end. You will wonder if you’re even doing enough. You will feel like quitting many times. YOU WILL FAIL. If this is you, all of this is completely normal. Just know when you fall, getting back up is a CHOICE. Choosing to roll over and give up is also a CHOICE. Also, after you take a hard fall, you actually come back stronger than before. You have to break the muscles in order for them to grow. So, what are you gonna choose when times get hard? Whatever it is you’re going through, TRUST THE PROCESS.
Another thing, we live in a world full of distractions now. Netflix, social media, and relationships that aren’t 50/50 are going to slow you down if you do not stay focused. Just remember not to indulge into your own laziness too much because time passes by quicker than you think. As far as relationships, if someone doesn’t offer you what you deserve, don’t waste your time and energy. Focus on your goals, focus on your purpose, and remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. The right people come into our lives when we are aligned with ourselves first, so be patient. When that person does come around, you won’t be confused. You’ll know. Until then, get your shit together.
Please tell us about Deeply Inspired.
The idea of “Deeply Inspired” birthed during those meditation sessions I talked about. It’s still very much in the beginning stages, but the goal is for it to be an “ecosystem for inspiration.” For example, Apple’s ecosystem consists of: iPhones, iPads, Mac computers, Apple watches, Apple TV, etc. They all revolve around user-friendly technology to improve daily life.
Deeply Inspired’s ecosystem consists of the music/poetry I create to help uplift people, the pieces of meaningful visual art I create to give to people, and also Deeply Inspired TV. Deeply Inspired TV is an Instagram/YouTube based hub that will include artist interviews, entrepreneur stories, displays of amazing art, inspirational stories, upcoming music artist performances, and more being added to the concept. Where I’m from, there’s so much talent that goes unnoticed. Deeply Inspired TV will help people showcase artists’ skills and talents. Deeply Inspired as a whole revolves around inspiration to improve daily life. If an artist I found on Instagram can inspire me enough to go off and create masterpieces for people, we can inspire other people to do it too. If J. Cole can create music that pulls people out of deep depression and inspired me to do the same, we can inspire other people to do it too.
Deeply Inspired’s mission in simple: TO DEEPLY INSPIRE YOU. Enough so that maybe you’ll find the courage to “GO FOR IT” in life. To start that business or podcast. To put that band together that you’ve always thought about. To put the pen on the paper or the paintbrush on the canvas and see what comes of it. When I started making music, I didn’t know that I’d eventually make a song that would convince somebody to keep living instead of killing themselves, but it happened. Same with the art, I didn’t know I would make a painting that made someone cry when I gave it to them, but it happened multiple times. This is what makes me proud, healing other people. When you find your light, you spread and share it with others so they can find theirs. That’s how we make the world a better place. I’ve started an Instagram page for @DeeplyInspiredTV, but with a full-time job and limited finances, there’s not really too much content there for you, YET. But feel free to tune-in ahead of time. Content will continue soon. @DeeplyInspiredArt (Instagram) is where I keep my portfolio of artistic creations, all up to date.
In the future, I plan to add more to the ecosystem, such as Deeply Inspired Photography, Deeply Inspired clothing, Deeply Inspired Yoga/Meditation sessions, Deeply Inspired travel vlog, and one of the biggest goals being to start Deeply Inspired’s own music record label, where we’ll help talented music artists gain success in the music world. As finances grow and ideas actualize, all of this will come into fruition even further. These are big aspirations and ambitions so I know things will take time to manifest, but when you trust the process, nothing/nobody can really stop you.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
You have to be fearless in pursuit of your goals. It’s a must. Until you overcome the fear, you will never really go for it. You will half-ass everything you do. That gets NOTHING done. This means you must ignore the noise and forget about what other people might think of you. People’s opinions are just that, opinions. Even then, who are they to judge you when they don’t know what you’ve been through? Everyone’s so worried about judgment, but for what? Why are we so worried about opinion’s of people who won’t even be at your funeral? Sure, you have to have some skills and talents to thrive in the world, and if you want it bad enough you’ll work hard to develop them. Everyone must pay the price of hard work and determination. There’s no shortcuts in the real world. So once you attain those skills and you know what you bring to the table, nobody can knock you off balance unless you allow them to. It comes from knowing your worth, and constantly elevating it.
Also, many people are afraid of ‘going for it’ and experiencing failure. They think they’ll never get that actress role, or become that popular singer like they’ve dreamed of, or the audience won’t laugh at their jokes. They think the big stage (society) won’t accept what they have to offer. In result, they go for the safe job and live a life they aren’t happy with in the end. It’s happening almost normally, and I wanna help break the cycles. The truth is, even the most famous people today experienced fear in the beginning. The difference between them and the ones who didn’t make it is they pushed fear out of their way because they believed in themselves.. When it’s showtime and fear kicks in (and it will), you either turn around and walk away from the stage, or you walk onto the stage and do the thing you’ve been preparing for and let the people feel you. It’s in these moments of decisions where your life takes direction. So choose wisely.
If you can’t just shake the fear, let’s put it into perspective. What is it that you fear the most? Chasing a dream and failing a few times until you eventually figure it out? Or never trying in the first place, working a job you hate your whole life, and wondering what could’ve been if you gave it a shot… Sometimes in life, you just have to jump and see where it leads you. If you jump, your parachute WILL open. Doors WILL open. But they’ll never open if you don’t take any actions. It’s the fear man, that’s the big self-limiting trait. You gotta let it go.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ryanlhtx.bigcartel.com
- Phone: 832-980-6139
- Email: rlhtx713@gmail.com
- Instagram: @RyanLhtx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rlhtx
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanLHtx
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