You Never Know, So Keep Going
This one might be a little motivational-speaker mixed with marketing-advice but hear me out.
You never know when something you do is going to come back and benefit you. You have no idea when when someone you meet, when somewhere you go, when sometime you donate your time, when some connection you make, when some comment you write, when some acquaintance you’ve lost touch with is going to change your life.
So keep going.
In 2012, I was in Bible college studying theology in pursuit of becoming a pastor at a church. I was doing wedding photography with my then-girlfriend (now wife) as a side-income as I studied and worked at KFC (true story).
In 2014, one of my past clients posted online about needing a freelancer to take some photos of the multi-million dollar global manufacturing company he worked for in Toronto. I threw my name into the ring and was asked to take the job on.
I remember, so clearly, how close I was to passing on this opportunity. I thought, “I don’t know how to do this. It’s easier to say no.”
And you know what? It would’ve been. But I said yes, I gave it a shot anyways, and within 6 months I had a full-time gig at that company that would be the launching pad for my self-employed life two years later.
Fast forward a bit, and that past client (turned friend and coworker) and I had lost touch when we’d gone separate ways from working for that company.
On a whim, I reached out to him just to say hello after a few years of silence. At this point in time, my career was up in the air, and I had no idea what the next few months of my life would look like. Know what happened?
He needed a guy like me for some work. And I once again had an unexpected connection happen at just the right time.
I’ve had clients come to me because someone I didn’t even know followed me on Instagram and saw me posting about a project I did years ago.
I’ve said yes to lots of weird and unconventional opportunities on the fringes of my abilities just because I thought it would be an interested experiment.
Many of those opportunities turned into the foundation that built the lifestyle I have today.
But at the time those things were happening? I had no clue what the future would hold.
And none of us do, really.
So keep going.
Keep sharing your work online. Keep making connections.
Keep saying yes to weird opportunities that are almost out of reach.
You never know when a connection you make is going to circle back around in the future and find a way to benefit you. Be brave. Experiment. Do stuff without being sure how it’s going to turn out.
I am living proof that if you say yes to enough stuff, mathematically, there comes a chance that enough of it might turn out positively to give you a life that is full, and full of meaning.
