Think Bigger
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It’s early in the afternoon and barely an hour since I touched down in Amsterdam. As I wait to collect my bags I let myself reflect on the past three days spent in Austin, Texas.
In 2013 (my amateur hand lettering days) I stumbled upon Sean McCabe. Not long after I started listening to the podcast. Three years and hours of listening later I packed my bags and headed to the first ever seanwes conference. With temperatures pushing 33°C and Halloween in full swing, Austin turned out to be three days of inspiration, encouragement and friendship.
It was no ordinary conference.
Y’know those conference you go to where there’s 1 million people and you’re by yourself in the corner feeling like a n00b? The breaks are too short, there’s not enough time for Q&A and the speakers disappear into a green room the whole time. I’ve been to a handful of those and come to realise they’re not my jam.
The seanwes conference is the first time I’ve attended a conference for the people, not the speakers. When considering attending a conference I always wait for the release of the line up before purchasing a ticket. With the seanwes conference however, I made an exception.
I didn’t go to seanwes conference for Sean or the speakers. For the first time, I went for the people.
During my time in the seanwes community I’ve met some incredibly inspiring people. They’re striving tirelessly to achieve their goals, follow their dreams and fulfill their passion. In the past 18 months I’ve surrounded myself with people who push me to be my best self. Since doing so I’ve achieved far more than I ever would’ve had the confidence to do on my own.
To find a place where thinking bigger and working towards your wildest dreams is encouraged has given me a huge boost of confidence.
At the conference there were people doing all sorts of things; overlapping their day job with their passion, building a business and growing a community. They’re working hard and smart by getting up early every day with a new burst of energy for the day ahead. It was such an encouraging environment — anything was possible.
The theme of the conference was Thing bigger. Whatever goal you have in mind right now — 10x that goal.
“10x it? Seriously?” said my inside voice.
Seriously.
I barely even know how to hit the 1x version of my goal, but boy am I fired up to buckle down and figure out how I can 10x it. In that moment I realised that I don’t want my life to just be about achieving one big goal; setting small milestones along the way is just as important.
One life goal can seem pretty daunting. Especially when we 10x it. After hearing Ben Toalson speak about work/life balance I’ve decided not to only focus on work related goals. I’m on a mission to set goals for other things in my life as well including relationships and personal well being.
Think bigger put into perspective not only that I’ve been thinking too small & narrow, but that I’ve never written down any action steps towards actually achieving my goals.
This really hit home for me. Having a goal without an action plan is like steering a ship at sea without a map. I end up drifting down multiple paths before pulling back and course correcting, but often when it’s too late.
If there’s one takeaway from the conference it’s to put myself outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself to achieve things greater than myself. That’s a bold statement, I know. And I may never get there, but you bet I’m gonna try.
We’re often encouraged to settle for comfort. Dreams and goals are considered ‘wild’ and ‘crazy’. Do the normal thing and settle for a 9–5 said everyone, ever.
I encourage you to fight against this. You’re in control of your own destiny and if you don’t want it to be the 9–5, don’t do it. Set yourself goals, think bigger and pull yourself out of bed each morning telling yourself ‘I can and I will’.
As I stepped onto the train home I hit play on Scotty Russel’s Perspective Collective podcast episode about finding motivation outside your day job to create. I was on a high — desperate to get home and create more. Despite the episode eventually ending, the fire inside me is still burns.
Charli and I just released a podcast episode on the value of conferences — take a listen here.
About the author
Hi I’m Femke — a designer, writer and podcaster who overlaps between a day job, freelancing and side projects. I love to help other creatives be the best version of themselves. I’d love to get to know you more, say hi on Twitter 👋
