My five moments of 5-minute fame
The time Twitter co-founder Ev Williams commented on my story
Anything worth doing is not easy and takes a lot of time. If it were easy everyone would be doing it.
The following are five times in my life where I have felt that my hard work and drive has paid off. I often look back on these stories for inspiration and motivation. It feels like I am reading someone else’s story.
I’ve learned if something doesn’t come easily it’s one of two things; It is not worth doing because it’s not for me — or — it is well-worth doing because hard things are only completed by the minority.
When I decide that something is worth doing because it is hard, good things happen.
1. My Skate of Mind
I skateboarded 85km from Sydney to Wollongong in 12 hours. I thought about and ‘planned’ the journey for a couple of years before actually doing it.
I was always able to find an excuse to put it off. Usually it had to do with what people would think or say. I resigned to the thought that I would never do it, but one day it had been playing on my mind too long and I just got up and left — at 3am.
The next day I posted my story to my blog and Medium. It became my most read post of all time. I had over 20,000 people ready my story over the next 3 days and one person in particular was very surprising and encouraging for me.
This was my gateway drug moment of being heard, admired, and following a dream. The story hit the front page on Reddit, Hacker News, and was picked up by Gizmodo.
The experience taught me that starting is the hardest part. There is no perfect or good time to start something, and if something scares you and excites you at the same time it probably means you should do it.
2. Moviies
I made a website called Moviies that was labelled as possibly “the best new movie website in Australia” by CNET.
I wanted a website to see what movies were now showing and coming soon without all the fluff of advertising and extra content. I couldn’t find one so I decided to build it myself and called it Moviies.
The project hit the front pages on Reddit and Hacker News. Thousands of people viewed and used the website over coming months and I received a lot of positive feedback.
The website no longer exists but you can follow Moviies for new movie trailers and read the article on CNET if you’re interested.
This experience taught me it is easier to build something quickly and efficiently when you believe it is solving a real problem. It changed the way I approach work and life. I’m more aware of how much I believe in something I am working on and my motivation levels.
3. Drawing for a Year
I drew every day for one year. I always wanted to be able to draw but like everyone I didn’t want to put in the effort. I knew if I really wanted to draw I would eventually get around to it, but the shear amount of effort required stopped me.
The way I was able to get around the fear was by removing expectations and goals. I told myself I would draw for the sake of drawing. Every day. On paper. For no reason. Just draw.
I did this every day for a year and then decided to share my story. Over 26,000 people have read it and many people have reached out in some way, often thanking me for inspiring them to give drawing another chance in their life.
This experience showed me that I can learn new skills if I am willing to put in the time and effort. It also proved that good things do not come quickly or easily and anything worth doing is often hard. I’m 3 years down the track now and I’m still struggling to believe in my drawing skills.
Drawing is a skill that is learned and maintained, with a lot of time effort.
4. The Little Adventurer
I illustrated a children’s book called The Little Adventurer goes to Japan.
Drawing is a hard-earned and maintained skill. I have spent years now trying to progress in my skills and in 2017 I decided to pursue the challenge of illustrating my first children’s book.
I did not feel entirely ready and was worried if I started that I would not finish but from past experience I knew I wanted to do this and there was no shame in trying.
I was excited to see my drawing skills turn in to something tangible and real. We decided to self-published the book through Lulu.com and have seen hundreds of books sell with it hitting #1 children’s book on Lulu in its first week.
The reality that my illustrations are now published all around the world and sitting on bookshelves for years to come, held in tiny little hands inspiring kids to be brave and try new things is encouraging.
This experience opened my eyes to the harsh reality that the perfect time to draw turns out to be the exact moment I feel like doing nothing at all.
5. Cycling for Deliveroo in Amsterdam
I quit my career as a web developer of 10 years, moved overseas, and cycled for Deliveroo.
I cycled over 4090km for Deliveroo in Amsterdam from Sep 2017 — Jul 2018.
I had been working as a web developer for more than 10 years and I was ready to try something different. I didn’t know what that would be. I was an assistant chef in an underground kitchen for a few weeks before realising it fell under the “not for me” category of hard things.
It turned out joining Deliveroo was a great idea and experience for my time living in Amsterdam. I got to be outdoors all the time, I became very fit, and I know the city and suburbs like the back of my hand. We had 15 months to explore and I was able to do so while working.
It has been one of my favourite jobs of all time and living abroad is a once in a life time experience. We traveled Europe extensively over the 15 months living there, and continued traveling for another 5–6 months through South East Asia on the way home to Australia.
I wrote about my experience cycling for Deliveroo in Amsterdam, sharing how much money I earned and how far I cycled during my time.
The living abroad, cycling for Deliveroo, and long-term traveling experience gave me a reality check in how I view people and work. I have a new respect for chefs and people working in hospitality. It also confirmed that money is not everything and being content and healthy is really important.
These have been the five times in my life where I have experienced the most fulfilment and recognition. They remind me that I can do things I want to do and do them well. I just need to start and when things get hard to remember that most people will stop. If I can keep pushing through the hard parts and finish — I will be of the minority and have a story to share.
I read my own stories to get motivated. I’m constantly trying to remember the important lessons from these experiences. Most the time I am not motivated. These stories remind me that I was, can be, and will be as long as I remember that hard things are worth doing if they’re important to me.
Stories mentioned in this post:
My Skate of Mind: https://medium.com/this-happened-to-me/my-skate-of-mind-6970a7b48906
Drawing for a Year: https://byrslf.co/drawing-for-a-year-819c51d8621d
Illustrating my first children’s book: https://medium.com/p/illustrating-my-first-childrens-book-cbc3b08ec182
Cycling for Deliveroo in Amsterdam: https://medium.com/swlh/i-cycled-for-deliveroo-in-amsterdam-efd6bc045a98
