By Prathap Suthan via LinkedIn
This is for you.
You could be a junior writer. Art director. Planner. Designer. Anyone.
There’s no written-down formula. On how to last long in this business.
At least, I haven’t come across anything. If it was in a book or anywhere else, I’d have probably heard.
No vitamin supplements. Secret mantra. Chakra therapy. Artisanal ginseng powder. There’s nothing out there.
Except for one thing.
It’s something that’s helped me across my years in the business. And what continues to help me.
It’s not just talent.
Talent is basic. Most people will have it. Maybe not writing or design or art. Even goatherds have an art.
Once you know you have it, you need to grease it. You need to sharpen it.
You need to give it food. You need to take it for walks. Give it input. Water it. Grow it.
You need to know how to make it work for multiple audiences. For all sorts of mediums, platforms, and formats.
You need to make it into your reflex. Build and improve on the gift you’ve been blessed with.
And then, you got to grow roots.
Grow your passion deep. Into your soul. Don’t just embrace it. Get entangled in it.
Like getting caught in a happy spiderweb. Stay firm. Stay put. Stay welded.
Storms will come. Winds will lash. Bend. Don’t break. Take it on the chin. Rise again.
You will cry. You will be alone. You will be defeated. You will be miserable. These are necessary. To build your armour.
Sweat the days. Sweat the nights. Sweat the weekends. Sweat the holidays.
Light won’t pass you by. The tunnel won’t be short either.
Love your work. Marry your work. Make it your shadow. You have nothing else in the world to call yours.
This is the engine that will take you ahead. Invest in it. Give it fuel. Stay the course.
Your ideas will get trashed. Your conviction will be tested. You will get rejected. You will get defeated.
Bite your teeth. Bite your tongue. It will hurt. It will pain. Scream alone. But don’t let go.
Nothing else will make you stronger. Nothing else will help you succeed. Nothing else will help you grow.
Grow flowers. Grow fruit. Grow truffle even. But stay there. Adamant. Resolute.
That’s the one thing you need. There are other words for it.
Tenacity. Determination. Spunk. Grit. Pluck. Moxie. Guts.
It’s the one quality that will bring you riches. And the one muscle that will help you outlast everything that this business will throw at you.
Soon the world will come looking for you. Because they know you’re impossibly dependable.
Stay grounded. Stay rooted. In one place.
Be an oak. An oak stays. No oak ever went for a walk.