When Life Does Not Go Your Way (Or the Way You Planned It)

What were your ambitions in life?  What were your plans after art school?  Land an awesome design gig with major clients like Apple and Nike and enjoying the "good life". So what happens when life throws you a curve ball?  What if instead of a major design studio with design savvy clients, you're working for a small company, or freelancing and you have clients whose design skill maxed out on Office Paint.  What should you do if life is not ending up the way you thought it would be?

To be perfectly honest.  This thought came earlier this week.  It reminded me of my plans and ideas of what life would be like after graduation.  An artsy, Florida studio working with clients that totally got my design sense (Yeah…definitely was fantasizing that).  Instead, I spent the first four years of my design experience was spent making corrections on someone else's design projects (with little bits of design scattered throughout).  Just when I started doing regular design work and get back on track… I found myself moving to Knoxville, moving AWAY from our most of our friends and loved ones.  Plus, I work with clients who do not appreciate design savvy (can I get an amen?)  So as you can see, life hasn't been what I thought it would be.

So, you're probably thinking that my dreams are a bust… Well, they're not, just different.  Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared about a 25 year plan that he wrote for a class at Duke.  Oddly enough, the plan only stayed accurate for 18 - 24 months.  Why?  According to Cook "the journey was not predictable at all." The key to planning from Apple's CEO?  "…prepare."  In essence, don't get thrown by life because it's not working out according to your plan.  Life is unpredictable, learn to see the good in it.

So I'm not working from a successful studio in Florida and I don't have clients that accept my work without question (probably never).  The thing is, I'm doing more design work then I've done in the past and I'm gaining experience with working with clients.  I may not be near friends and loved ones, but I'm making new friends and making new connections.  Sometimes life does not go the way you planned.  The best thing to do then?  Prepare for the unexpected.  'Till next time Bloggees.