Have you ever worked incredibly hard and in a moment of tired desperation had this thought:
“Is all this work even worth it?”
Undoubtedly you have, right? I was in that headspace just the other week. Just past that moment – I found my answer.
Yes, it is totally worth it – so long as you’re striving in the right direction.
If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you missed my announcement about this:
Super excited. Just signed the paperwork to start a new adventure with an amazing team! Here's a clue: pic.twitter.com/LPlEjqBJ8J
— Adam T. Croft (@adamtcroft) September 20, 2017
It’s been a week since I could publicly say that, and yes I’m still excited. The position and team seem like a great fit. It also fulfills two big goals for me: to work in a development studio, and program/script audio (not sound design).
From the moment I started the programming work on my own – it’s taken 9 months to put a body of work together and find the team that was looking for that body of work at the right time.
Prior to that, I’ve been paid to do audio work professionally for over a decade.
So what’s the takeaway for you?
MAKE YOURSELF VALUABLE.
That 9 months I mentioned was all on my own time, outside of work hours. Putting in day after day of effort on things I thought were fun, cool, and interesting. I didn’t do it because someone told me to, or promised me anything. I did the work because I enjoyed it, wanted to create more opportunities for myself, and held out hope that I would win the war of time and attrition. Usually, so long as I don’t give up, some cool shit happens.
In the process, people began to value my work. Most people don’t even tell me the value they find! But all of the effort, on my own time, gained enough interest so that when the timing was right the opportunity was there.
If you’re in a bad situation and looking to get out, or looking just to find work and clients period then you need to ask yourself a simple question…
“What am I doing to make myself more valuable to people I’m interested in working with?”
It’s a super difficult question – but if you answer it, the rewards are very high.
Get to work!
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