Take chances, live life.

I look into taking chances in your life and why this could be a good thing not only for your soul and happiness but for your career. Will you become Corporate Charlie or a Reckless Erica? With the way things are today you spend a majority of your life working and you wanna be sure that you are where you wanna be. Will you settle for safe?

I am currently back in School at The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. I decided after working for about 5 years as a senior designer at a NBC Affiliated news station (WIS News 10) that it was time for me to move on to greater and bigger things in my life. I have an Associates degree from The Art Institute of Charlotte and figured the best way for me to achieve this goal of moving on, was to go back to school and get my Bachelors degree in design. After some phone calls and other things it was determined I would be going back to school and leaving everything that I had worked for and built in Columbia SC. I had a great job with great co-workers, and a wonderful new town house that I purchased and a 401K. Also I had a new car and family and friends all around me with positive reinforcement. Columbia, SC is the kinda place that you get to know almost everyone in the city… or at least it feels that way. I could pretty much walk into any bar or place and at least know one person and have conversations and fun times. My popularity as an individual and as a designer was on the rise and things were pretty much great!. I was told many times that “I had it made in the shade”, especially having all these things at the rip age of 24. So why did I get up and move away from it all? Well its quite simple really.

Are you taking chances?

Realistically there are two life directions you can go. One is to be “corporate Charlie”, go the safe route and play it safe. Get through college and then get a job and work your way up. Get involved and gain a family, buy things and live happily ever after. That is until a younger more ambitious version of you comes along when you are reaching the age of 45. When that happens you better believe that things are going to start getting interesting. (I obviously am not 45 and will not be for some time so I am basing this off things I have seen in other people’s lives). Young corporate Charlie comes in with his hair spiked up in the front and sporting a brand new jacket, attitude, and drive. He comes in and agrees to work for half of your salary. He comes in and takes your job and then you are left with…… nothing, and this is because you played it safe. Sure don’t get me wrong … you have your family and your other desires in life to fall back on but now you have to start all over because you didn’t take any extreme chances while working up to the top. You didn’t make decisions for yourself; you let society and your job decide what you are going to do for about 80% of your life.

I know … BUMMER.

The other direction you can go is to be a “Reckless Erica” This is the choice to take many chances and live your life instead of just trying to please and work your way to the top. Sure this life style is not all that glorious at first. In fact your going to have a ton of ups and downs in your life probably a lot more downs then upsThere will be a whole lot of what I like to call “shit storms” over you.  But as your going through your life taking chances you are doing a lot of things that are so great for yourself and your life. Your going with the uncertainty and curiously of what is going to turn out for you. This keeps things interesting and keeps you on your toes… keeps you working for what you truly want in your life. You have taken your life in your own hands and have now decided to do what you want with it. Society is no longer leading you in the direction it wants to take you but you have now taken control of your life.

With this life style you will meet tons of people and make tons of connections with people and things that could help you out later on in your life. Also you’re in pursuit of happiness and that alone is worth the chances. Your going to stay up to date with things in your industry and a younger version of you is not going to come in and take your spot, because you have built a life style that only you can have! You have in a sense made your self an unique individual with a unique life that applies to you and you only. You will have unique set of skills and style. Because you have taken these chances in your life you have become educated in multiple fields of your industry. Also your cultured and traveled a bit and people look at you in a different light. They take you a little more serious because of your ambition and your desire to get where you wanna be. They aspire to be like you and aspire to live like you, because you LOVE LIFE.

Lets face it… emotions and people’s attitudes are contagious. If you’re sitting around someone who is always bummed out then your going to start to feel bummed out. But if your sitting next to someone who is so excited about life and all things around them then your going to get all pumped up also and want to tackle the world just like that person.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.“-Steve Jobs

You will spend about 80% of your life working. 80% !!! That’s a lot of time. That is almost your whole life. I don’t know about you but if I am going to be spending that much time working then you better believe I am going to make sure that the job I do day in and day out will be my dream job, I don’t understand why anyone would not want this also. I currently am in school and struggling with money and many other things. I have a house that no one lives in, as I pay my monthly mortgage. My bank screwed up a ton of stuff and I had to pay 984352704578 dollors to get it all fixed and I am stressed most of the time as I push to get projects done by certain deadlines. I don’t have much down time, my social life is strange and I know almost no one here. Would I change any of this? NO!

I am now producing some of the best work I have ever produced, and I feel so accomplished by this. Since I have moved I have traveled and seen a ton of new things that I have never before. I have meet a ton of awesome people and made really awesome connections with others. These are all things I would have never of got if I would of stayed the safe route. I am now taking control of my life and going the direction that I wanna go. I am also starting to look in to maybe getting my masters degree, not for the fact to get “more pay” or “a better job” but to educate myself and to be able to choose what I wanna do in my life.

When you strip away most of the elements in life and mentality you are left with one undeniable fact. You. Are. Going. To. Die. Most things will not matter once your dead, but I am sure as your life flashes before your eyes you would probably rather see time spent with your family and all the awesome things you experienced or saw or accomplished while you were living on this planet. You’re not going to want to see grey cubicles and money and you sitting at the same desk for 40 years.

My point to this whole rant, is this and this alone.

Take chances, live your life to the fullest and strive to achieve the things you want to achieve. DON’T SETTLE. Never settle.

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” – Steve Jobs.

Let me know if you agree of disagree I would love to hear what you think life is all about and your take on how to achieve ”happiness” – Also be sure to check out my next blog post that will be about Artist having to settle to become designers to make money in order to live, and Designers Striving to become artist. Interesting take on the design industry. Excited to hear back.

ALSO you should check out books that were written by a wonderful man by the name of PAUL ARDEN. Inspirational books on taking chances and living life and how to approach situations in design and life. Check these books out!, easy read with a great message!

“Whatever You Think Think The Opposite”

“It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s how Good You Want To Be”

Brandon