Kevin Rudolf | Stop Being a Slave to "Success"

One relaxing evening by the pool, I was listening to the music of one of my childhood heroes, Kevin Rudolf. I was jamming out, really feeling his music on a visceral level, head bobbing, and all. I related to the lyrics in a way I couldn’t as a young boy. As I dove deeper into his music, some of which I had never heard before, I was enthralled by how moving, upbeat, and positive his lyrics were. The songs were actually… I hate to use the word because it’s so cliché… inspirational. Kevin Rudolf had created the soundtrack to my life.

In that moment, I thought, “Huh, I should reach out to this guy to interview him on my podcast.” I searched for his email, which was shockingly easy to find, and typed up my proposal to him. I had to talk to Kevin. I wanted this more than I wanted a girlfriend when I was in sixth grade. It was April 1, 2019, over a decade after discovering him, and I wasn’t fooling around. At 6:29 PM, I sent the email (I’ll share my email templates later).

Now, the waiting game. If he didn’t answer, I would follow-up a few more times before letting it be.

At 8:42 PM, I received my reply:

Hey Jordan

Thanks for reaching out. I’d be happy to do the interview. When are you thinking? I can check the schedule with my manager and we’ll make it work.

Yes! I did it!

I leaped up from my seat with the most child-like excitement I had felt in years, parading through my apartment, yelling, jumping up and down, the whole nine yards. If anyone saw this, they would have thought I just won the Superbowl.

As soon as I calmed down a minute or two later, my good friend Savannah called me. I picked it up.

“Guess what?!?”

“What, Jordan?”

"Kevin Rudolf just agreed to come on the podcast! Remember, Let It Rock?

“No way!”

I shared my excitement with everyone. I texted my little brother, my mom, posted it to Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn. I couldn’t believe it. My journey was, in a way, coming full circle.

Listening to Kevin Rudolf's music with my early generation iPod Touch on the bus on the way to school as an 11-year-old, never in a billion years would I have been able to conceive the thought that I would interview him a decade later for something called a "podcast." Wild.

We recorded that podcast in April of 2019 and it went well.

Recently, Kevin and I met up in Miami to record another podcast and have lunch.

Please, enjoy.

Connect with Kevin on Instagram.