Episode 54: Tegan Quin

An interview with Tegan Quin how being a Virgo explains her life decisions, how high school prepared her for the future, how she’s dealt with poor mental health, how she became a business woman and her best career advice.

Welcome to the 54th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions.

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This episodes guest:

My guest today is Canadian indie pop band musician, songwriter and author, Tegan Quin. Born in Calgary, Canada Tegan is an identical twin to Sara Quin and they are both openly gay. At the age of 15, the twins began playing guitar and writing songs, eventually forming a band called Plunk using their school’s recording studio to produce two demo albums. A few years later, they released their debut album under the name “Tegan and Sara”. During the course of their twenty-year career, Tegan and Sara have sold well over one million records and released eight studio albums. They have performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, from Coachella to the Academy Awards. In 2016, they created the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which fights for health, economic justice, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. More recently, they released their memoir “High School”, their ninth studio album “Hey, I’m Just Like You” and have been on tour. I spoke to Tegan about the events that have shaped her life, how she deals with her internal struggles and how her life purpose has guided her journey.

The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode:

You and your sister are Virgos like me. In what way does being a Virgo explain the career and life decisions that you’ve made?
Your book is called “High School”. What experiences did you have in high school that prepared you for your future?
Mental health is a very important topic in our society and is more common in the LGBTQ community. LGBTQ individuals are 3 times more likely to experience a mental health condition than straight individuals. How did you overcome periods in your life when you suffered from mental health and what advice can you share with others who are suffering?
How did you learn how to be a businesswoman and how have those skills helped you as an artist?
What is your best piece of career advice?

Follow Tegan’s journey: