In this episode of Good Job Podcast, Beth Roars chats to Sheena Ladwa; Director of Ultimate Artists Development Camp. Sheena and Beth speak about the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, maintaining a positive mindset and addressing mental ill health. Sheena also opens up about her personal journey, growing up as a singer before transitioning into running an artist development camp, as well as the relationship between creativity and pain.
““I always thought I was going to music to heal people, because music had helped heal me through so much, but I realised, I don’t have to be performing to help people””
Podcast Episode Highlights:
Beth Roars introduces the latest Good Job Podcast Guest - Sheena Ladwa
What was Sheena’s worst job ever?
Sheena speaks to the podcast about using music as escapism
Where did Sheena Ladwa’s journey with music start?
What was it like for Sheena to leave her family and move to London
Sheena’s experiences working in a 9 to 5 job to subsidise her dream of working as a singer
How Sheena was signed by her first manager
Sheena tells the podcast about her experience of working with a manager and being sold a big dream by him
How did Sheena Ladwa meet Joshua Alamu?
Why did Sheena decide to call time on her career as a singer?
Beth Roars and Sheena discuss the importance of being malleable towards your goals and following what you love to do even if your original goal has taken you to somewhere different than you initially expected
The importance of having a positive perspective
How Sheena’s parents taught her the value of paying for her own ‘luxuries’ whilst they provided the necessities
What was it like growing up with a father who sings Bollywood?
The importance of discipline and practice
Sheena shares with the podcast her drive to work and improve in order to prove a coach wrong
How much work do you need to put in to be an artist?
Sheena gives insight into what you can learn from Bollywood
How Sheena became Director of Ultimate Artists Development Camp
Sheena Ladwa tells us what Ultimate Artists is and what they seek to do
How mental ill health affects artists
What was it like for Sheeena growing up around a parent with mental health problems
Are pain and mental health struggles synonymous with creativity?
Sheena Ladwa talks about making sure you have the right people around you
Why is mental health important in the music business?
Should mental ill health be a taboo subject?
Sheena shares with podcast listeners the importance of dealing with mental ill health before you end up facing something you can’t handle
What was it like for Sheena to be exposed to mental ill health and depression in her family at an early age?
Beth Roars asks Sheena if pain is synonymous with creativity
Sheena Ladwa shares her experience of having an emotional block and how she worked through it
The importance of not always believing the stories in your head, they are not always true
Getting out of your own way and not holding yourself back
Sheena and Beth discuss the necessity of having great people around you to act as your foundation
Sheena Ladwa speaks about the fact that nothing is bad because everything is preparing you for something more
Key Points:
Every experience is just to prepare you for something else, nothing can be inherently ‘bad’ - it just means you’ve learned something you can use at other points in your life
Build a foundation of good people around you so that you always have them there. Your energy is affected by the people closest to you so it’s important to be selective to keep yourself in a good space
Mental ill health should be able to be spoken about and shouldn’t be a taboo. Artists are often fragile people and that’s ok, they should acknowledge that and be prepared to work through it
Work through your mental issues proactively. Otherwise you end up getting to a point where you have to face something and aren’t prepared to
Follow what you love and be malleable. Be aware of what you’re actually enjoying at any moment and follow it. You might find that your original goal doesn’t lead you where you expected but that you end up exactly where you’re meant to be
Don’t believe the negative stories in your head, all you end up doing is getting in your own way
Quotes:
“I had days where I didn’t know how I was going to pay the rent. Where the landlord was coming and I had no money. But I had this will and this drive to keep going”
Sheena Ladwa.
“If you want to get anywhere you have to work with the best. But to work with the best you have to pay for it as well”
Sheena Ladwa
“You might not be where you want to be, but you are where you are meant to be.”
Praful Ladwa (via Sheena Ladwa)
“You can think you’re a great judge of character, but in this industry, people are so used to masquerading that it becomes part of their identity”
Sheena Ladwa
“I always thought I was going to music to heal people, because music had helped heal me through so much, but I realised, I don’t have to be performing to help people”
Sheena Ladwa
“Everything was my preparation to be able to do what I’m doing today with Ultimate Artists, and help artists not to make the same mistakes I did, I’m definitely a believer that everything is meant to happen and unfold in the way it does”
Sheena Ladwa
“If you can look at it and go ‘At every point I’m learning something’, I don’t think then you’ve not been successful, I think you’ve been more successful for things you’ve learnt. Everything is about perspective”
Sheena Ladwa
“If you want to be great, you really have to put the work in.”
Sheena Ladwa
“We wanted to create a space for artists where they could feel safe and free to explore their creativity and their talent.”
Sheena Ladwa
“You wouldn’t build a house on a rocky foundation because that house will collapse. When you are pursuing music, if the foundation is not solid i.e. your mental wellbeing, how you feel about yourself, your character, your resilience, the chances are you will face something further down the line that you are not prepared to deal with.”
Sheena Ladwa
“Those breakdowns 99.9% of the time lead to a breakthrough you didn’t even know you needed as an artist”
Sheena Ladwa
“In some cases it your success can be your demon, a success you never thought or dreamed about having... how do you deal with that?”
Sheena Ladwa
“If you have a pallet and you want to paint but you only have black and white, you can’t really paint a full picture. When you have colour in your voice you can express what you’re trying to say”
Sheena Ladwa
“We are our own obstacles 99% of the time”
Sheena Ladwa
“We will tell ourselves stories that are not the truth but we will repeatedly believe them. You need to stop telling yourself those stories”
Sheena Ladwa
“As artists, your support system, the people you surround yourself with, it needs to be really intentional”
Sheena Ladwa
“As an artist, if you don’t have the right people around you, building you up, refilling your vessel, there’s only so much you’re going to be able to give. So really be aware of where you spend your time and energy”
Sheena Ladwa
“See everything as an experience that is preparing you for something that is yet to come”
Sheena Ladwa
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