I’m going to tell you something, that I’d like you to accept as fact. In return, I’d like you to tell me something (spoiler: I’ve already got that something in mind). This nugget will help you, wherever you are right now.
Ready? Here it is:
You can build whatever you'd like to.
I remember where I was when that idea started to grow inside of me. I was standing with a new friend in the parking lot adjacent to my first adult job, smoking a cigarette, staring at a dumpster.
Beautiful, right?
The day was over, and we were lamenting the gauntlet of a week we’d just been through, trying to find a way out of it. We probably should’ve been more thankful for our jobs, but we were losing little bits and pieces of ourselves every time we walked through the doors to the office. So, here we were, plotting a wild escape.
- “Learn to code. Coders make shit-loads of money.”
- “Start a blog. Everyone gets rich off of advertising on blogs.”
- “Start a blog and then start a store. In an old abandoned building. That feels honest and fulfilling.”
- “Win the fucking Powerball. Or MegaMillions.”
We were desperate. But, back to the point:
You can build whatever you'd like to.
I started an online web design/development agency with a less-than-stellar track record attempting to learn how to code. I’d made some progress, and had bite-sized successes, but nothing stood out as fundamental, other than just sitting down and learning to do it. I went to school for architecture. I spent six years in school working on that degree, and almost another seven working in the field, only to completely abandon it and start a company doing something completely different. With about three months of personal experience, working on websites.
The whole world will tell you that if you have a goal (particularly something professional), that you can’t make it happen unless __________. Often that bullshit blank space includes “school” or “work experience” or “know someone.” It’s all bullshit. Just start. Start right now, and you can make it happen. It might take five years, but it will happen as long as you just start, presuming you aren’t involved in a freak accident.
So, go do it. Please. If school is a barrier, fuck school. Just learn. If money is a barrier, figure out a way to pick up the skills (perhaps more slowly) for free (YouTube is incredible). If your close friends or family doesn’t support you, find people who do. And, if it’s your fear that’s holding you back, remind yourself that fear is often an internal manifestation that keeps us trapped in predictable, safe loops. You’re better than all of the above.
Now, it’s your turn.
Tell me that this also applies to my personal life.
This is probably personal 