Never Give Up
I was a struggling freelance designer with a few clients, big goals and even bigger dreams. I wanted to work with NBA players, big brands and if I was lucky, sneaker companies.
A few years ago I was at a dead end. I was trying to think of something to motivate me to push forward and keep working. One night I bought this basketball for $0.75 at a thrift store. I leaned back at my desk frustrated, saw it, walked over grabbed a sharpie and started sketching on it.
The message was simple: Never Give Up.
The style was different and messy. It wasn’t clean and it wasn’t perfect. It was a message to me, for me. I posted the image that night online. My hope, even though it was personal, was that someone would connect with it and it would inspire or encourage them.
Fast forward almost 6 years.
I’ve flown out to Baltimore and find myself sitting in a large conference room with Steph Curry and the Under Armour team. As I’m sitting there waiting for my time to present my work, I realize something… I have no right to be there.
I didn’t go to college, I had never worked for a design agency before starting my own and I had zero formal training. I’ve fumbled through business ideas and concepts and I’ve failed over and over again. I was left with fear at that moment. Getting ready to talk to some of the most important people I’ve ever worked with and yet completely frozen with fear.
But, God.
As I’m sitting there realizing who I’m pitching too, reflecting on my past, filling myself with doubt and completely consumed at the moment. Something happened.
The Under Armour team pulled out their mood-boards that their teams had been looking at for inspiration. As they flipped through the many images and laid them out for Steph and his team to look at, I saw it.
My Basketball.
A piece I created for myself in a hard time that pushed me to never give up, never quit and never back down. A mantra that God laid on my heart to dig a little deeper, push a little harder and relentlessly keep growing and learning.
Never Give Up.
I can’t tell you what my future holds, but I can tell you that since I drew on that basketball all those nights ago, I have been on a great journey. Learning, growing and failing. Finding and seeking my calling.
I knew it wasn’t by chance to fast forward all those sleepless nights and see my work in that room being used as inspiration right before I presented my work. I knew at that moment why I was there. God was at work all those years. Planning preparing and pushing me to this opportunity.
I didn’t need a piece of paper to show my worth, or a roster of clients to impress someone. God created me for this moment. I was made for this. The trials, the hardship, the victories and all the lessons learned in between brought me to that room, in that place, for that moment.
