With Age, Comes Wisdom - RD183

There's wisdom in all of us.

I chose the title "With Age, Comes Wisdom" for this episode not because I believe I'm very wise, but because it's inevitable that as time passes, all the ups and downs, the successes and failures, the roadblocks and overcome hurdles all add up. And whether you realize it or not, each one of them helps in its own way to shape you into the wise person you are now.

As I approach my 50th birthday, I can't help but reminisce and ponder the choices I've made in my life, the paths I've followed, and of course the journey that's still ahead of me. And I've come to appreciate better something I'm sure you've known for a long time. And that is, that with age comes wisdom. And what use is wisdom if you can't share it with people?

I'm not talking about being a know it all. Please, don't be a know-it-all. I'm talking about using the knowledge you've gained over time, whether you're 20, 50 or 80, to help the people you serve. Including your family, your friends, people in communities you frequent, and yes, your design clients as well.

I've said it before on the podcast but let me repeat it. No matter what stage you're at in your design career, to everyone out there who knows less than you, you're a professional. Even if you're fresh out of school and have never worked on a real client project, when it comes to designing, you are a professional compared to the majority of people out there.

Hold on to that thought every time someone questions your prices or tries to negotiate a "special deal for exposure" with you. You are wiser than that, because of the time you've put in to get to where you are. Nobody can take that away from you, and nobody has the right to devalue what you've learned during that time.

Have I ever told you that Resourceful Designer is the third name I chose for this podcast?

I first came up with the idea of doing a graphic design podcast in 2014, shortly after I turned 45. I had just passed the threshold of the early 40s to late 40s. I know there's the whole mid 40s thing but face it, once you hit the five mark, you're on the downward side of that hill.

As I realized I was in the latter part of my 40s, I started looking at my future. I began having thoughts in my head saying, "who's going to want to hire a 45-year-old designer, let alone a 50, 55 or 60-year-old designer?" Especially with all the tremendous young design talent that is emerging these days. Not to mention the up and coming generation that's seeing business owners, managers, CEOs in their early 30s if not their 20s. Wouldn't they want to partner with someone closer to their own age?

Luckily I didn't stay in that funk for too long. sIn fact, it didn't take me that long to appreciate that at 45, I had accumulated a lot of useful knowledge and skills. Wisdom if you will, that could be very useful to that same younger generation of businesspeople. I had 15 years of experience working at a print shop, plus another nine years running a successful design business.

At that time, I had already been podcasting about TV shows, so I knew what I was doing, so I decided to start a design-related podcast. I was going to call it The Aging Designer.I even designed the logo and website.

I was going to use the podcast as a platform to talk to 40, 50, 60-year-old designers and remind them that we still have a lot to share with the younger generation. I recorded an introductory episode but never published it.

I sat on that podcast idea for quite a few months, not doing anything with it because something didn't feel right about the whole concept. I ended up sharing my frustrations with some trusted podcast friends, and they told me that the knowledge and wisdom I wanted to share, although useful to people my age and older, might better serve a broader audience.

That's when I switched gears from how to survive as an ageing designer, to how to grow and thrive as a home-based or freelance designer. So with renewed enthusiasm and a clearer path for the podcast, I renamed the show The Wise Designer (I never designed the logo). However, I soon started thinking that calling the podcast The Wise Designerpeople might think I was pretentious. So after some more contemplation, I settled on Resourceful Designer, and I'm glad I did.

The word "resourceful" has helped me stay on track and navigate the direction of the show. The podcast allows me to share my experiences and knowledge, you can call it wisdom if you want, with designers like you.

I'm talking to you, designer to designer. I don't know how old you are. I don't know at what stage of your design career you're at or what discipline of design you are pursuing. I don't know where in the world you live, your background, your heritage. None of that matters in the context of Resourceful Designer.

What does matter is that you're a designer who cares enough about your current or potential business to listen to my podcast. That's what counts.

Since I launched Resourceful Designer, I've probably gained more value from doing it than you have from being a listener. It keeps me rejuvenated. It keeps me curious. It keeps me informed. And it makes me feel relevant.

I'm turning 50 this week, and I'm ready to embrace it. I'm prepared for whatever lies ahead on my journey.

Those doubts I felt turning 45 are way behind me. I have more today to offer as a designer than I have at any part of my career to date. And I hope you feel the same way, no matter what stage of life or your career you're at right now.

Embrace ageing. Appreciate the skills you're accumulating, the knowledge you're gaining, and package it all up in that ball we call wisdom. And use that wisdom to benefit those around you. Even if it's just to explain to a client why making the logo bigger won't help.

What do you think?

Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode.

Resource of the week Resourceful Designer Community

The Resourceful Designer Community is an active community of designers with a common goal, a goal of improving and growing their design business.

The Community is for designers of any levels. Current members include designers just starting their business, members with agency experience, members with knowledge of web design and print design, all willing to share what they know.

The Community interacts via a private and very active Slack group, with new conversations happening every day.

There are also regular video meetings. These video chats are where the magic happens. By seeing each other's faces and interacting directly with each other, members become closer and more invested in what each of their fellow members is doing with their business. If a member can't make the live video chats, they can view the recording which is archived for members to watch at their convenience.

If have your own design business or are thinking of starting one, regardless of your skills as a designer, and you are looking for a tight-knit group of designers to help you by being mentors, confidants, and friends, then you need to be part of the Resourceful Designer Community.

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I want to help you.

Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com