A long-term relationship
While I interned through my years studying in Art School, I rarely heard of people staying in an agency or any company for a long time. Unless of course they founded it. I can’t for the life of me remember her name right now. Maybe I should eat some more almonds as my mother tells me. But that summer over a decade ago, in Leo Burnett, I knew she was employed there for more than 30years. I was like is this another marriage? Perhaps.
I have never quite understood how long-term employment works. I’ve believed it is not for my generation. Ha! The things we tell ourselves when we are young. I always figured I couldn’t do anything long-term. If you know me, you’ll know I’m constantly in love with discomfort. And if absolutely nothing else, I perhaps would be dead-bored of the people.
Guess, today’s a good time to eat all my lofty words as a young person. I’ve been at Landor for 5 years. And honestly, if somebody asked me 5 years ago, what my 5 year plan was, it definitely did not have the word Landor in it. So I thought penning 5 things for 5 years was a good way to summarise a plan I did not consciously make.
- Despite everything, voice your thoughts. It matters
All my life I have been a loud person. On occasion even politically incorrect. I don’t advise for the latter of course. But I’ve always found a way to voice my thoughts. It mattered to me. I don’t necessarily put too much importance on what somebody else might think. My learning of the situation was more important to me. I find that voicing my thoughts, articulates them. I’m much sharper with each passing time. And most importantly, there is so much to learn from other people’s thoughts and ideas. Please voice yours? There is still so much for me to learn. - Do not take anything personally
Your work, your ideas, feedback, colleagues. Everything you do, should be in the service of the work and the work alone. This is exceptionally hard as a creative person, I understand. I have struggled with it for a long time. Perhaps, somedays I still do. But then I have called myself out enough times. This is mostly an inculcated everyday practice. And I highly recommend it for a good night’s sleep. - Patience is a virtue to cultivate
We live in the age of instant gratification. I find myself not wanting to wait to reap the rewards of any effort. The longer the journey, the sweeter the reward, I’ve been told. And I will be honest, I don’t yet necessarily do well in this department. But on the work I am patient with, I do reap the rewards in more abundance. As I actively think about it, I’m slowly leaning towards wanting to produce slower. Be more thoughtful. Build a more sustainable practice. Maybe it is ageing. Or maybe I’ve finally learnt to practice patience? - Invest in yourself
It is a version of self care that most people do not actually pay attention to. I’ve forever maintained the simple philosophy of input=output. What you sow, you will reap. And in today’s information overload world I usually find my solace in reading. I find an everyday reading habit compounds to build my imagination. I call it the gift that keeps on giving. - How you do anything is how you do everything
I believe the biggest thing I have learnt is that no job is too big or too small. Everything you do builds your character. I’ve learnt some of the biggest things doing the smallest jobs and mostly when I am not looking. And it stays with you. Everything is a learning experience. Make the most of it.
