When we embrace adversity in our creative journey, we unleash great power to grow, adapt, and find the place we’re meant to be.

We spend our lives creating. Our later teen years building our portfolio for college acceptance. If we’re privileged and lucky enough, we get into a design or creative program and years later, graduate.

We enter the world bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Ready to take on every cool creative project that comes our way, making a splash in the design world, and make money doing what we love. Maybe even getting accolades in the process.

Little do we realize though, once we graduate, our journey (and the hard work) of “creating for a living”, has just begun. And it probably won’t be a straight line to achieving our creative dreams.

Sorry.

In my experience, creating for a living has been an intricately woven pattern of wild successes and dream crushing failures. This has made a beautiful tapestry of experiences that have shaped my career and directed me to where I wanted to be all along.

And it’s not over yet!

Adversity is a part of life. And some have more than I could ever imagine.

While I’ve found my footing working for myself running a small art business, the work of jumping the hurdles hasn’t stopped. And because I have so much more to learn and do, more failure and adversity is in store, I’m sure.

But, for now, I’ll share a few major points of adversity along my creative career path that led me here, which may help you along on your creative career path.

My hope is that it offers you permission to explore, to allow, to fail, and to radically accept the adversity on your career path. Especially if we have the means and ability to do so.

Keep in mind…

These stories are from the perspective of a privileged white lady. So while, yes, I have had some adversities on my career path, they aren’t half as challenging as someone who might be from a marginalized community. Those who have experienced discrimination, racism, suppression, have been “othered” in some way, and/or who don’t have the means (in spite of having the passion & drive) to get a solid education to make their dreams come true due to financial or circumstantial restrictions.

If you’d like to explore this topic, take a peek at this report by the Society of The Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Flipping the Script: Unexpected career swaps after college

In my first year of design school, I went to my high school art teacher, Mr. Finlayson, to share that I was ready to quit design school as I didn’t think graphic design was for me.

There were times it wasn’t challenging enough since the teachers, more often than not, never showed up to class to evaluate our projects or help us along with constructive criticism. They were also teaching us stuff I had already learned in art school. Then other times, it was too challenging which instilled doubt that I was good enough or talented enough.

Because of this, I wanted to call it a day and start over with something else.

He reminded me of all the work I had put in to get to where I was and to not throw it all away. Even though it was challenging, he suggested I finish my diploma and THEN make the decision to switch directions. So that’s what I did.

When I graduated, I still felt the same way about graphic design so I turned to interior design as a new path.

I took some courses and landed a job at a paint store working retail and doing in-home paint consultations for a number of years. And then, worked with an interior designer. But graphic design kept calling me back. So, I hopped back on that path. Again.

The lesson I learned here is that hard work is necessary. Not only to do the things we like, but to get through the things we don’t like. Are bored by. Or disappointed by. Talent, skill, or even knowledge does not automatically guarantee we won’t have challenges. And just because we do, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not for us or that we should quit. It IS the path.

Breaking Free: Unleashing into freelance from scratch

Later on, I landed a desktop publishing position at an engineering firm.

The job wasn’t creative but it spoke to my eye for detail, to organize information, and need to make it all look pleasing to the eye.

While I worked there, I had the creative capacity to take on freelance work so I took on jobs creating ads, logos, and brochures.

While I wasn’t too excited by the actual work, it was creative work which I was thankful to have so I could build my portfolio and experience as a freelance designer.

That led me to taking on every project that came my way. This was a mistake, in hindsight.

Due to my limited capacity to take on work, coupled with my inexperience and lack of confidence, this strategy left me working on jobs I wasn’t passionate about for very little money and not having a voice (or boundaries) in the process.

This led to being micro-managed, not valued, and left with an end result I wanted to bury and never see again.

As a young designer, I defined freelance by this experience and decided against that particular design career path. Accepting the idea that it wasn’t for me. Or that I wasn’t skilled enough to make it work for me.

Looking back, my lesson here was to not let singular or short-term experiences limit what “could be”. And, to also not root my beliefs about me, as a creative, based on those very limited experiences and bad clients.

What I should have done instead was to not explore this path alone until I had some kind of solid foundation to work from.

Having help or mentorship by another freelancer (or many), may have broadened my idea of what freelance was – or could have been for me. It may have also helped me build a portfolio I was proud of, with work I was excited about, before going out there looking for work.

Crash and Burn: From dreams to jobless in one month

After I was laid off from my desktop publishing role due to the work drying up, I had taken on a couple of creative roles in in-house graphic design positions over a span of a few years. One was wonderful. The other, was not.

When my dad passed, I had been working at an in-house design position I was not happy at.

I took the role because I was promised full creative control over the design department, as I would be a team of one. I felt this could really expand my skillset in leadership and creative direction. However, it quickly turned into a photo editing position that I couldn’t break free from.

My dad happened to pass over Christmas, and luckily, the company was closed for a month over that time. So I took that time to process what had just happened with my dad and decide my fate at this company.

When I returned to work, I realized life was short and I had to start chasing my big happy dreams. One of those big dreams was landing a job at a design studio.

What a luxury to have the option and ability to chase big happy dreams!

My perception of studio’s were that they were fun environments where you’d be working alongside a tight-knit crew of creatives where collaboration and creativity were number one.

This idealistic view, was wrong. Ah…I miss those rose colored glasses!

While it was somewhat creative and the team I worked with were lovely, I was having a rough time getting settled and fitting in.

I accidentally broke a CD tray on my new computer. Made mistakes on jobs left, right, and center, which was unlike me. And when put “to the test” on a project, I failed miserably (in their eyes) – which resulted in an unexpected and immediate firing on the spot, only a month into the role.

I was ashamed. Embarrassed. Angry. Felt tossed out. Crushed. What was worse, someone very close to me at the time gave me a “I knew this would happen” which made it even worse.

To be honest, I can’t quite figure out why I had such a rough go of it. If I had to guess, I was still reeling from my dad’s sudden passing and making big career moves in this space of grief. Not a good combo.

Either way, I used this experience (and the people around me) as solid proof, I had no business being a designer. So, when my old desktop publishing job came calling, I went back.

This epic loss and dream crushing experience had so many lessons.

One being a reminder to not using a singular experience or external validation to define who you are, your beliefs, and your worth.

It was a lesson in not making big moves from a space of grief, anger, or anxiety.

A lesson to surround myself with people who supported my dreams. And not to kick me while I was down.

And a lesson in allowing the universe (or whom/whatever you believe in) to redirect me towards something better.

In the end, this experience ended up pushing me back into my comfort zone. Exactly where I needed to be at that time.

From Corporate Shackles to Entrepreneurial Triumph: My bold leap before the storm

When my desktop publishing job had dried up, yet again, I was on the hunt for another job and I decided it would be a great time to look for work in the creative field again. Only this time, I’d be chasing it from a more clear-headed space thanks to some life coaching and therapy.

This wasn’t easy work, nor cheap. But was thankful to have found a coach-in-training so my fees were low and benefits at my publishing job, which opened the door for personal healthcare.

I interviewed for an in-house design position on a marketing team at an architecture and engineering firm and landed it.

While it wasn’t necessarily a dream job, it would help get me back into the design game after a long hiatus in the world of desktop publishing.

During my time there, I learned so much. I met some of my best friends there whom I still consider soul friends.

One of those people was hired as the senior designer on the team a year after I started and quickly became my mentor and best friend. I was even a “best lady” at his wedding!

With all of this confidence and honed skillset under my belt, at “year 7” there, I started creating for myself; At home, in the evenings and on weekends. It started out as a need to work on my creative, illustrative, and conceptual skills. And quickly turned into a side-hustle that was making money.

Little did I realize, 3 years later and with support of a new partner, it would turn into what I now call my own business.

In January of 2020, I quit my corporate role to explore what it would look like to run my own creative business. Finally! Is this where all that adversity was leading me all along?

Then the pandemic hit…now what?

The stores I had been selling to had closed. My own online retail sales were dead. This was starting to feel like my other experiences, where I just couldn’t break into the world of creativity and design without more obstacles. Hmmm, maybe this WASN’T for me.

But the world had bigger problems, and far worse than me chasing dreams!

Taking lessons from my previous experience, I wasn’t going to make big moves from this place of anxiety and fear.

Luckily, I was in the very privileged position of having low rent, a couple months worth of expenses in the bank, a boyfriend who was making enough for the both of us, and my health. This offered me the room to figure out what my next move would be.

Would I go back to my old job? Would I take on another, unrelated job to pay my bills and support my business? So many unknowns were afoot at that time.

But then an idea hit. Pandemic postcards.

Everyone was at home, not travelling, and yearning for connection. I decided to create Greetings from Home postcards that featured 5 rooms of the home we had all been visiting more of. I created a tourist brochure and put the postcards up in my Etsy shop.

I couldn’t keep them in stock! And this project, ultimately helped me through this tumultuous start to my entrepreneurial journey.

This experience was not only a lesson in proper planning (and saving) prior to leaving the comforts of a full-time role for a side-hustle, but also a lesson in adaptability. Letting go of what I thought business would be to adopt something new and unexpected. I had to think on my feet and tap into the needs of customers to stay afloat.

But also, I got a little lucky too as I was ready for online sales – where many weren’t - and had the financial means to invest in the postcards. I also had integrated many lessons from my previous experiences which may have had a hand in my success.

And I don’t expect these challenges to stop. Especially now I’m running my own business in a (still) unsettled economy. So failure is inevitable. But I fear it less.

All of this to say that all of our failures have value, even if we can’t see it at the time. And the adversity and obstacles we come across in our creative career don’t prove this creative path isn’t for us or that we’re not good enough. It serves as building blocks to create a strong foundation and directs us to the places we’ll eventually love. We just have to be brave enough to walk the path - as difficult as it may be at times. More difficult for some than others too.

Had I let my failures limit my potential and possibility (which almost happened a number of times), I wouldn't be here today! So embrace it, integrate the lessons, and watch it take you to wonderful new places.

Some questions that might help:

• Is / was this opportunity aligned with my values, self-worth, and goals?

  • What ARE my values, beliefs about myself, and business goals?

• Am I making decisions from a clear headspace?

  • Is what I’m running towards exciting me? Or am I being impulsive due to the fear of missing out, anxiety, fear, or expectation?

• How can I offer compassion to myself during a time of unrest?

  • What is this time of unrest making me believe about myself? And is this actually true?

  • Am I giving myself appropriate time to process failures? Or am I quickly moving onto the next thing?

  • Am I fully feeling everything I need to? Or am I avoiding it?

• What are some of my successes in my creative career?

  • How can I leverage those projects / experiences to attract more success?

Comment below to share your creative career story and how you managed to work through it.

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