Meet Ani Agassi | Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ani Agassi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ani, what do you attribute your success to?
Throughout my life experiences, I must say that there are more than one important aspects regarding success. I think the most obvious one is, YOU HAVE TO PUT IN THE HOURS! You must be passionate to want to learn everything and anything possible about your craft. Say yes to new skills, experiences, and challenges. Most importantly, the one that sets everything else in life into play, is having the right mindset. Success is not external and it is not a quality that one needs to chase or achieve. For me, success is defined by the amount of which you are willing to expand and challenge yourself. Unfortunately, most people often overlook their dreams as foolish or impossible ideas.

Let’s get deep and bring in some perspective! You are the center of your life and you are the one interacting with life, so the first things you need to know are who you are, how you work, and what areas of your life need improving to get where you want to be. Faith is an important aspect of life. If you cannot believe in your wildest ideas and dreams, then you won’t even have the motivation to try. If you don’t think something is possible, then that something won’t be possible. If you alter the way you see yourself, everything around you will also change. We are sometimes surrounded by people who do not have big visions. Those types of people never fail to discourage us and hold us back from success. These can include family, friends, or anyone else whose limited beliefs and opinions you may give importance to. Hate, negativity, doubts, and fear are the standard programs most people are conditioned to. Oftentimes, we direct these toxic thoughts and emotions toward ourselves. You can not be successful if you don’t fully believe in yourself and embrace your full potential, especially as an artist. I consider myself successful in my career and life regardless of where I am or how much money I make in my business. In the professional world, the secret I discovered that skyrocketed me towards success was the awareness of how life works. You truly get what you give out. Life acts like a mirror for your thoughts, words, and intentions. It takes a tremendous amount of mental work, self control, and recognition. Pointing blame, complaining and depending on others will get you absolutely nowhere in life. If you can look at your failures, disappointments, and pain as opportunities for growth, you are the true WINNER in life. The right mindset and attitude can bring lots of great people and connections into your life. A successful person navigates from a perspective of nothing but respect, compassion, and passion.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I wear many hats; I am a graphic designer, photographer, director, videographer, editor, and an inspirational booster for people who lack vision and confidence. I currently work with musicians and entertainers. I have always been attracted to the world of entertainment. I earned a BFA in Graphic Design with an emphasis in Entertainment Design. I worked as a designer and photographer/videographer for big entertainment companies such as Disney Channel and Radio.com. I have worked on many red carpet events and concerts in Los Angeles. I have photographed some of the biggest Hollywood Stars.

What sets me apart from others is the variety in my skills. I am never afraid to jump into new things and invest hours to learn the technical aspects of my craft. This may include gear, lighting, softwares, and business. I pay attention to the smallest details; I have a unique and unusual taste in lighting and color. I also have great people skills. I believe I am where I am today by taking myself and my work seriously and passionately. I ensure that my projects are handled with the best of my abilities and that my team feels inspired and appreciated. When directing larger projects, I am aware to ensure my team knows how important they are and that they get what they deserve.
Having support from family, friends, and work connections has definitely been KEY to my success.

My journey has not been easy, but nothing great comes easy. Where would the fun be if it were? I learned to rewire myself into a whole new perspective, which had to have been the biggest challenge in my career and personal life. Overcoming doubt and fear had been a large obstacle. Life began when I gathered the courage to go after what I wanted and took full control over my decisions, choices, thoughts, and emotions. I learned to let go of parts of me that were shaped by the limited environment and culture I was born and raised in. I needed to step away from what I knew in order to learn what I needed to know. I sacrificed social life to reading books after books in my room in order to learn how the human mind works. I realized that the brain is no different from a computer. Matter-of-fact, it is the most intelligent, most complex, and most advanced computer we have direct access to. If you learn how it works, you can get it to operate at its full capacity. I also realized that there is no such thing as luck. You receive what you put your focus on. The mind works as a magnet; the sharper the focus, the greater the pull. By focusing ONLY on what you want, you will start receiving less and less of what you don’t. What I want the world to know is that possibilities are endless for everyone. Limitations, fear, and doubt only exist in thoughts about the future. If you can start taking small steps today while having the bigger picture in your head, you will get where you want to get over time. My brand is all about the philosophy of life’s potency, life’s beauty, and creativity.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As an extremely curious person, I can enjoy any type of experience – from skydiving in Dubai to sitting inside shopping carts at Costco while eating free samples with my cousins – as long as there is laughter involved. Where I will take my friend really depends on the friend visiting. I enjoy live music, creative and social networking events, traveling to places, and being out in nature. One of my favorite live music events that I often go to is Dave Yaden’s show, an LA based musician and Grammy award winning songwriter. The beach is always nice too.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are many people that have inspired me to be where I am today. I have taught myself the teachings of many spiritual and intellectual leaders. I’ve studied the minds of successful and influential people including celebrities, scientists, artists, and many others who are passionate about their life and life work. Some of these people include Osho, Ram Dass, Joe Dispenza, Tony Robbins, Will Smith, Russel Brand, Jim Carry and many, many others that the world may recognize. Beyond learning from others, my inspiration grows larger every day from the support and encouragement I receive from my own family, friends, and colleagues. They truly believe in my vision and have an equal amount of drive for success themselves.

Website: agassigraphics.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ani_agass and https://www.instagram.com/agassizone/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ani-agassi

Other: aniagassi.com