Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] OSB Pod: Hey everyone, welcome to the episode. So ask Aram flips the script one step beyond podcast guests and listeners submit their questions and askAram anything. Questions can be music, life stories, business, leadership, advice, how to make the best vegan omelet, you name it.Aram will unpack your questions and leave you with info you can apply way before we get to it. Please rate, review and subscribe.
[00:00:29] Dan Smith: Good morning. One step beyond soAram has pushed me and inspired me in certain areas of my life that I feel like I needed to be pushed, and most recently running, which I'm doing right now.
I would like to askAram, who inspired you? Who has inspired you, or who does inspire you to push yourself?
[00:01:00] Aram: Dan, that was an awesome question. So first of all, you are amazing. I love you, really appreciate you, and.
[00:01:06] Aram: I'm really inspired by you both as.
[00:01:09] Aram: A great friend and a great business owner and all the amazing things you've done from your art, the books you've published, the way you've managed, kind of having kind of very public Persona, but also managed to just stay like a decent dude. And of course, all the stuff you've done musically and creatively in general, great person, great friend. I appreciate you a ton. This question is awesome. It really made me think.
[00:01:31] Aram: I actually had to pause before I.
[00:01:33] Aram: Could answer and I got a little misty eyed.
I am really, really inspired by people who are good at things that I.
[00:01:43] Aram: Suck at and I try to spend.
[00:01:46] Aram: Time with people who are really good at things that I struggle with or I'm trying to get better at. One of the things I often say to people about whatever you want to.
[00:01:56] Aram: Get good at, find someone who's really.
[00:01:58] Aram: Good at it and ask them to.
[00:02:00] Aram: Help you and spend time learning from them.
[00:02:03] Aram: I don't just mean business things. So, for example, if you have a friend who's like a really good parent and you're going to become a parent, or maybe you think you could become a better parent, you want to learn.
[00:02:14] Aram: About it, talk to him, ask him.
[00:02:16] Aram: Advice, spend time like family time together.
[00:02:19] Aram: Bring your kid along, watch what someone.
[00:02:21] Aram: Else does and try and replicate it. If you want to get better at almost anything, it's about finding people who.
[00:02:28] Aram: Are really good at it, asking them.
[00:02:31] Aram: About it, and then spending time with them so that you can see what they're doing and try and apply it to yourself. You can, of course, read books and watch videos. Like all of that's fine, but I think there's nothing better than really building a relationship with someone. Or if you already have the relationship, like, investing in it more and really understanding why someone's good at something. So from that perspective, I get really inspired by four different people. The first is my friend Dave Larson. Dave is a consummate fan of other people being successful. He doesn't have a jealous bone in his body. When someone does well and they're his.
[00:03:08] Aram: Friend, he is ultra psyched at. And, like, I can be pretty critical.
[00:03:14] Aram: Like, a relatively critical person. And part of it is being a coach or a therapist. You're always kind of looking for the holes in things.
[00:03:22] Aram: So part of it is just, like.
[00:03:23] Aram: From a professional discipline, but I think part of it is kind of growing know, being a bit insecure, getting bullied.
[00:03:29] Aram: A little bit, and always kind of.
[00:03:31] Aram: Like, looking for negative sides of things. So Dave is just such a. He's just such a champion of people and just believes in people and is so psyched when people do well.
[00:03:41] Aram: And when I spend time with Dave, I get really psyched on other people.
[00:03:46] Aram: And people doing well. So if my tank ever gets empty about people, I go and spend time with Dave. And it really re energizes me about just celebrating people being psyched on other people's success, not always doubting what people are saying or looking at a negative way.
[00:04:01] Aram: So the first would be Dave Larson.
[00:04:03] Aram: The second would be my friend Thomas out in Richmond.
[00:04:06] Aram: Thomas is, like, this hilarious dude.
[00:04:08] Aram: He's got, like, a great sense of humor.
[00:04:10] Aram: He's a really funny guy, but also.
[00:04:15] Aram: He'S just, like, a great friend and a great father. That dude is so open to people with different beliefs and different ideas, and he's got friends from all over, all sorts of different outlooks, and he's just cool with everyone.
[00:04:28] Aram: And as a guy, again, growing up.
[00:04:32] Aram: Not just in the punk scene, but kind of growing up with my own.
[00:04:34] Aram: Ideas about stuff, it's really easy for.
[00:04:37] Aram: Me to retreat into.
[00:04:38] Aram: Kind of like, well, if you don't think this, you suck.
[00:04:41] Aram: And Thomas has been, like, one of.
[00:04:43] Aram: My friends that has.
[00:04:44] Aram: We've disagreed on so many things in.
[00:04:47] Aram: Lots of different ways, but what's always.
[00:04:49] Aram: Stayed true is our friendship. And very specifically, he's like a really, really good friend where if I'm kind of silent for a while, if we're texting or if he hasn't heard from me, he'll reach out, always make sure we have a good connection.
[00:05:02] Aram: And I really am inspired by that. He is such just a decent friend.
[00:05:09] Aram: Like, a really, really good friend. The third is a guy named Scott Patterson. Scott Patterson is the CEO of first service.
[00:05:17] Aram: So first service company. And I've known Scott for over a.
[00:05:23] Aram: Decade, and I knew him as he transitioned to the role that he's in now.
[00:05:26] Aram: And he's effectively just the same person.
[00:05:29] Aram: I mean, he's a better and better and better and better version of that person as a leader.
[00:05:34] Aram: But this is someone who's, like, leading.
[00:05:36] Aram: A gargantuan organization, and there's tons of organizations underneath it.
[00:05:41] Aram: You would never know it.
[00:05:43] Aram: It's not like a guy that's wearing the flashiest clothing or the flashiest watch.
[00:05:48] Aram: Or someone that doesn't lead with their.
[00:05:51] Aram: Success, just leads with their humanity.
[00:05:54] Aram: I often say Scott is maybe my.
[00:05:57] Aram: Favorite CEO I've ever known, and I've known many great ones, many great professionals.
[00:06:03] Aram: But what I really like about Scott is that he leads with being a person first.
[00:06:08] Aram: And that also means there's, like, all the cool, funny sides of him. He's a hilarious guy, but goddamn his intellect. It's like, this guy can go from 40,000ft in a conversation to, like, four inches, boom, instantly.
[00:06:20] Aram: And his intellect is super sharp. He's just a smart, interesting, cool dude.
[00:06:25] Aram: And as a leader, it really makes me always want to lead with my humanity first.
[00:06:31] Aram: Just be an accessible, interesting person. Be real with people.
[00:06:35] Aram: And I don't mean, like, be real in that corny way.
[00:06:37] Aram: Just be an honest, real person and be able to also be through and.
[00:06:42] Aram: Through, like a strong professional at the same time. So really, really inspiring.
[00:06:45] Aram: All of this is stuff that I.
[00:06:48] Aram: Might suck at, or I'm trying to get better at, or even I'm okay at, but I'm invested in getting better. So, for example, like, Dave Larson, he's just like, I can kind of be a little critical. Dave Larson's more positive and really, really cares. Thomas is this great friend who's ultra.
[00:07:02] Aram: Good at really having his opinions and.
[00:07:05] Aram: Ideas about things and being able to.
[00:07:06] Aram: Discuss them super well, but also doesn't.
[00:07:09] Aram: Shove them in your face. And you can have these great dialogues, and he's always your friend, he always has got your back, just like a great person.
[00:07:17] Aram: Scott Patterson.
[00:07:18] Aram: It's easy when you're a leader, to kind of hide behind a lot of bluster or kind of like, whatever authority you have or any of these things.
[00:07:25] Aram: It's also really easy to kind of feel like nobody gets me.
[00:07:30] Aram: I'm this isolated leader. This dude's just like a real human. And it's so cool to see someone who's in really leading a really big organization just be a great person.
[00:07:40] Aram: And for me, running a business.
[00:07:43] Aram: Sometimes I'll fall into any of the shitty things that people fall into, so.
[00:07:47] Aram: It'S cool to have someone to look.
[00:07:49] Aram: To like that and get real. Inspired by the lasso is a double shot, and I always kind of joke around that I'm like an accidental musician.
[00:07:56] Aram: I suck at guitar. I am not good at it, but.
[00:07:59] Aram: I've been playing guitar since I was 15. I should be far better than I am at this point. But what I'm pretty good at is songwriting. I'm pretty decent at it, but I've gotten good at it through being around superior songwriters. Really, really good songwriters. Two people who have really influenced me that way are Todd Jones and Aaron Kreitzberg. Todd, who's played in so many bands, like carry on, Terror Nails, a band called betrayed, that we were in together.
[00:08:25] Aram: For a while, and then Aaron Kreitzberg.
[00:08:28] Aram: Who was the guitar player of the first step. Both of them are unbelievable, next level songwriters. They just can hear something and create something that's like, I don't even know how you came up with it. Tod is technically proficient beyond belief.
[00:08:43] Aram: This guy is just, like, an absolute.
[00:08:47] Aram: Unbelievable guitar player, but also his creativity and his ability to hear something and be like, oh, that would be cool.
[00:08:53] Aram: But if I did it this way.
[00:08:54] Aram: That way, and I switched it around.
[00:08:56] Aram: And I flipped the riff.
[00:08:58] Aram: He's just such an incredible songwriter, and I learned so much about songwriting from this guy where I kind of look back and been like, oh, my God, I should have done this, this and this and this. If I spend, like, an hour with, like, talking about music, I'm like, oh, shit, I could have done all this stuff. So he's been really inspiring in terms of the creative craft of writing a song.
[00:09:19] Aram: And then Aaron, where Aaron is like, todd is just so, like, tod is such a good guitar player, and he can just do things that are astounding.
[00:09:29] Aram: Aaron is a very, very good guitar player, but Aaron is just so vibe based, and he's really good about giving things space. The way that he looks about music and talks about music is really, really interesting. Both of them, in different ways, have really influenced my songwriting. And again, because I'm not, like, a.
[00:09:44] Aram: Naturally good guitar player at all, and I'm just kind of plucking out whatever.
[00:09:49] Aram: I can pluck out.
[00:09:50] Aram: But I feel those two guys really.
[00:09:53] Aram: Supercharge my thinking about music and about not even about music, but about how a song can and should move people. So both of them have really inspired the way that I look at music, listen to music, and create songs.
[00:10:07] Aram: So those would be all the people.
[00:10:09] Aram: I kind of snuck an extra one in there, although you didn't give me a limit.
[00:10:12] Aram: So those are who inspire me.
[00:10:17] OSB Pod: We want to hear from you, our audience. To submit your questions, send us a message. Drop us a DM or a comment on our social channels.
Close.
