Ep. 35: Then Effin Do Something

I was facing a particularly challenging time in my career. I had put my illustration work on hold to help build an accredited art college, investing obscene amounts of time and resources into the vision of the owners, convinced that this would be a significant part of my future. Seemingly overnight, it all came crashing down. I was left embittered and ranting late one evening to my wife. 

After several months of watching as the business unraveled, she had heard enough. “Then effin do something!”  

I looked at her in disbelief. This was a thing that had happened to me, not because of me. It had a huge impact on my time, income and my outlook. Who the hell was she to speak to me this way? 

I stormed out of the room fuming. I sat in my studio for a long time. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that she was right. Her words and tone had been sobering. I didn’t realize how negative I had become. All of those things that had happened to me were the result of my choices. More importantly, those things were all happening to us. For all of the late hours that I was obligated working, I wasn’t around for her or the kids. All of the financial frustration; she carried that stress every day. It wasn’t just a loss of income, it was a loss of intimacy, a loss of connectivity and even the loss of the person she had married. In those hours, I decided to build my own company- to define the principles; to give it shape and vision. I didn’t know then, but this traumatic moment in my life was loaded with lessons. This experience set the stage for me to build my company which I would later call Legendeer. I didn’t know how, or what, but my desire for independence and autonomy was tempered through those years of volatility of investing my time and vision into the ideas of others. I was hell-bent on building something of my own. Only through this failure was I able to burn away distractions and truly shape a vision that I deeply believed in. Legendeer became one of the most important things I’ve ever been a part of- its vision calling to thousands of people from around the world who shared my values, outlook and enthusiasm. The principles and people that I was introduced to through Legendeer changed my life in paradigm-shifting ways that I still can’t fully put into words. All of this started with an idea and the right ingredients for motivation. As you’ll read in the coming chapters, I was a shaped-charge ready to move forward with intensity and intention. 

Without the proper motivation and resulting action, my idea amounted to nothing more than just complaining. The world is filled with complaining. What we need now are those with the courage and integrity to dream big, think louder, to build the solutions that can change the world and to see things through. But, before any of that can happen, you’ve got to get your own house in order.

Time and time again, my wife has pushed me and challenged me to take action on my ideas. 

“You’ve got a million great ideas. Pick one and see it through.” I’m willing to bet that you could benefit from this bit of advice, too. If you ever have the chance to meet Shelly, be sure to thank her for that.