n Thursday evening, I was checking Twitter when I saw Abduzeedo had linked to an article called ‘What I have learned after almost 4 years of Abduzeedo‘. I am really glad I clicked through to the blog post because it really resonated with me and my current circumstances.
Fabio Sasso of Abduzeedo says;
As you can see a lot happens when you make a decision. Of course there’s always a downside. Nothing after-all is perfect. Life would be boring otherwise. Also, everything takes time. It’s sort of like planting…you’ll never get results right away, because you need to get experience, learn and be prepared. We have to persist if we believe in what we’re doing. At least it was like that with Abduzeedo. It took over one year for the results to start appearing.
I believe the most important thing in life is to do what you like and make decisions based on your own opinion and not based on what other people think. I know that’s pretty much what Steve Jobs said in his commencement speech at Stanford and it makes so much sense. Or perhaps it makes more sense now after these almost 4 years of blogging, because that is the most important thing I have learned. In other words, put yourself out there, have passion, confidence, and persistence.
These inspiring words could not have come at a better time for me. I am currently doing some freelancing, but mostly I am looking for full-time employment as part of a User Experience team in the right kind of company. Working within the UX field is something that I feel very strongly about and is a real aspiration of mine. However, over the past few weeks, when I have been searching for work, I have been told on numerous occasions to give up and go for a job that is ‘easier to get’. By that, these people often mean doing something administrative in an office, or apply for a grad scheme in a corporate sweatbox doing something like management consultancy. This, to me, is unacceptable. I am incredibly passionate and focused on the job sector that I want to get into, and for me, anything else would be a letdown. But there are only so many times that I can tell people politely that this is not what I want to accomplish right now, and I’m not going to give up till I get what I want. And only so many times before that little seed of doubt starts creeping inside of me telling me how easier it would all be if I just gave up.
When I made that decision – not to give up until I get a job that I really want – it came at a price. As Fabio says, a lot happens when you make a decision. For me, this means that I have to live at home. And I have to pick up freelancing gigs that I would not really want to do otherwise. And this can get frustrating. Especially when those around you have a difficult time understanding your motivations.
Reading Fabio’s article though, really has given me a new sense of purpose and direction, and has re-cemented my decision to stick to my guns and not to bow down to these outside pressures and negative thoughts. Fabio says two important things:
- Everything Takes Time
I have to be patient. I have to use this time wisely to build up my knowledge and my skills in order to really be prepared for my call-up. As Linford Christie once said, “Listen, when the gun goes, I run like hell”
- I believe the most important thing in life is to do what you like and make decisions based on your own opinion and not based on what other people think
I have to remember that I have a goal, a vision, even a dream about how I want my life to go. I must not settle for what may be easier short-term. Long-term is the rest of my life, and I want to be doing what I love.
I think that Abduzeedo is an awesome example of what can be accomplished through sheer hard work, passion and perseverance, and his blog post really highlights this. Fabio Sasso is incredibly inspirational and I thank him for writing such an honest, motivating post.
