Rising Star La’Ron Hines: “If you love it, do it; If it’s not something you’re passionate about and willing to put in 100% effort, leave it.”

If you love it, do it. If it’s not something you’re passionate about and willing to put in 100% effort, leave it. Also, I would say don’t judge others success by your success. We are all different and we all achieve goals at different points in life. And always remember, don’t believe everything that you see….people only show you the good..they never show the good, bad and the ugly.

I had the pleasure of interviewing La’Ron Hines. La’Ron is a singer, actor and dancer born in a small town in Mississippi. He recently moved to LA to further his career goals and get more involved in the entertainment industry. La’Ron has always had a love for Music as well as acting and has been involved in training and working since the age of eight. He is currently working on a feature film that is in Production while also working on his 2nd album and music video.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Everything started for me at such a young age! I believe I was two years old at the time and I would always be with my grandma who strongly influenced me as a singer. She would sing all types of songs to me and I would sing them back. After I learned them well, she would take me to different places like church, the bank and sometimes even Walmart and I would sing the songs I learned. This eventually became a weekly task for us. It was later on when I established a love for acting. After watching all the shows on Disney and Nickelodeon, I immediately thought to myself, I want to be on tv. When I told my mom, she did a search for acting camps and found one in LA. So, the following summer for six years straight, I attended this acting camp and feel more in love with the business.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

The most interesting story for me happened during the Summer of 2018. I did my first tour and I had the time of my life! The tour was called Boys of Summer and we went to 17 cities with multiple performers and had a show. Going on tour made me love what I do even more. Connecting with fans and being around people who enjoyed my music made me feel great. Although my schedule was busy and I rarely got rest, I was still in love with the tour and wanted even more.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I would not necessarily say funniest but I would say most embarrassing moment for me was doing a show and not being prepared. I thought I had my stuff together and when I performed, I realized that I did not bring my A game. I learned real quick that no matter how small or how big an event is, to be fully prepared to make my performance enjoyable and one to remember.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Right now, there’s a movie I’m in called Dirt Merchants and it should be coming out within the next year. I’m super excited for it. I loved working on the set and with other cast members. As far as my music, I am working on my 2nd EP and a music video. I’m excited for both because the album has been something I’ve been working on for a while now. Right now, we are finishing up some things for this one song on my album and we are working to get a video for it. The video will feature some surprise guests that you’ll have to see when the video comes out. You don’t want to miss it!

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

One interesting person I’ve had the chance to interact with was Spike Lee. This is a crazy experience that I’ll never forget. I was visiting New York and got to meet him at an event for Michael Jackson. It was a crazy moment considering that he’s a filmmaking legend. It doesn’t get more interesting than that!

More recently, I interacting with Khalid at an event where he was promoting his album. When I tell you he is down to earth and humble, it was just unreal. He was very personable and took time to make conversation with me and others waiting to meet him. It was an experience that I will never forget.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

If you love it, do it. If it’s not something you’re passionate about and will to put in 100% effort, leave it. Also, I would say don’t judge others success by your success. We are all different and we all achieve goals at different points in life. And always remember, don’t believe everything that you see….people only show you the good..they never show the good, bad and the ugly.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Being from a small town I never had to deal with this problem because it was never a public thing but since moving to LA, I have seen thousands of homeless people. I have always been passionate about helping others but seeing the issue in real life has prompted me to want to do more. If I could start a movement to help homeless people get on their feet, it would definitely be the direction I would move toward.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Social Media- In today’s world before you actually connect with people, they always want to know your social media so that they can see your magic numbers. It seems that this is what make or break you. I wish someone had told me this step and I would have started a lot sooner. It has been hard catching up to my peers but the harder I work; it is becoming somewhat easier.

People/Connections-I also with that someone had told me that not everyone has your interest at heart. We have met many people who try to promise immediate success and appear to have the magic formula for success. As a newcomer, it’s easy to fall for the things presented before you. As a result of wanting success and having faith in some, it has cost my parents many bought lessons.

Time-as a teenager, it takes a full commitment to this business. Sometimes, I get caught up with wanting to do the fun things vs the things that will better my career. Starting out this was hard. But now that I am fully committed, it is never hard for me. Having made new friends on the same career path as me has made it easier because I am able to do career things and hang with friends at the same time.

Rejection- I wish I had known that most people will get more rejection that successes. This was very hard for me because I have always had successes being from a small town. Then I moved to LA in a more competitive place, and it has been difficult. But on a positive note, it has made me grow. Now I take rejection as motivation to do better, train harder and get things done.

Headshots/Resume-Quality headshots and resume are essential in this business. In the beginning, I mostly used people who where more cost effective but I did not really have a quality product. As the old saying goes, “you get what you pay for”. It took some time for me to realize that I was not getting auditions because of this. As soon as I realized this, I made new ones and began to get in the doors in front of casting directors.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

One quote that I always live by is “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work” I learned this quote at a very young age from my father who was a basketball coach and often used it. This quote has always kept me humble and kept me wanting to work. It made me realize no matter how talented you are, if you don’t put in the work you won’t make it.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Honestly my biggest help throughout all this has been my family. Everyone in my family plays a different role in helping me with my career and when we all come together, we see results. It’s like a well running machine. I know that not many people have parents that are supportive and I am so lucky and grateful that I do.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂

Honestly there are multiple people I would love to have lunch with. To name a few, let’s just say my day would be made if I could meet with Beyoncé, Scooter Braun, DJ Khalid, Drake or PDiddy. I follow these individuals on social media and they are the most powerful, influential and motivating people I see. Although they are famous and have what so many people desire, they always find time to encourage others below and they push others to work hard. I have to admit; I watch DJ Khalid and PDiddy on a day to day basis. I wake up and check their insta stories to get my day going. There is almost never a day you won’t find encouragement from either of them.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram @laronhinesofficial. Tik Tok-@laronhinesofficial Facebook-La’Ron

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!

Rising Star La’Ron Hines: “If you love it, do it; If it’s not something you’re passionate about and was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.