Due to my current hectic schedule, my post is a little late this week… My apologies.
This post is directed towards ambition and drive. If you lack ambition, then you will lack happiness, experience, and success. Lately I’ve been building a list of places I want to visit, projects I’m eager to work on, and software I want to become friends with – all by the end of the year.
I’ve been exploring LinkedIn a lot more and I honestly have to say it’s become one of my favorite Social Media outlets. I find inspiring and insightful articles all the time, but one in particular stuck out to me. A quote from the post that happened to stay with me was “the harder you work, the luckier you get”. I have had many instances where I could relate and I’ll reiterate them below.
The past four years I have done things that I only dreamed of before, yet it hasn’t slowed me down one bit. Now at the age of 22, I feel as if I’m the healthiest and most fit I’ve ever been. Throughout school I played baseball year-round, and graduating high school I weighed near 230 pounds. Standing at six foot one inch, I wasn’t happy with my physical appearance and it was something I was determined to change. My body wasn’t happy with my East Coast eating habits and it was time to take action. It was also time to choose a college, and my interest for photography escalated through the three years from classes I took through high school. I soon registered for classes at the Art Institute of Philadelphia because of the easy commute from my home only twenty miles from the city. One month prior to my start date at the Art Institute, I received a call from Brooks Institute accepting my application and interested in pushing my ability. They insisted I needed to come due to what I had been producing out of high school. Most of my closest friends were heading to colleges out of state and it made the decision easier. Nineteen years of my life were spent raised in New jersey and it was time for a new chapter of my life. I was fortunate that I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and most people at my age struggled with their focus. My parents were also a huge support throughout the process, and even encouraged my out of state education as they knew I would grow up quicker and have a better college experience.
Throughout my time in Santa Barbara at Brooks Institute, I had a strong foundation for the ability to create. Despite the workload amount from the accelerated pace of Brooks, I was still eager to create. Many students get “burnt out” from the technical assignments and end up only shooting for assignments. Reaching halfway through school, you were then able to sign up for more specialized photography courses, and the first class that caught my eye was ‘Art Director’s Point of View’. I always enjoyed movie posters, cd album art, and commercials, so the idea of creating ads intrigued me. Not only did I fall in love with design, but typography as well. That class opened my eyes and is now what I am currently pursuing to become in my career. Here I am almost four years since high school graduation, weighing in 45 pounds less and more inspired than ever.
This year I look to write a book, release a clothing line, purchase my own car, explore more software, along with traveling overseas, doing something that scares me, read more books, see more live music, and patent an idea. Most importantly – be original and do what you love and pursue what interests you. Hold back nothing, don’t be too satisfied with your success and remain challenging yourself while pushing your abilities to the limit.
Remember one last thing, the beautiful thing about the future is that nobody will ever know what is going to happen, and that to me is the most exciting part. Create opportunities and put yourself in a better position to reach your desired job each day! Now, excuse me while I go create.
Until next week..
DJ
Derek Johnson 