I’ve had dreams, worked hard, and experienced failure and despair. Throughout my childhood I was always creative. From writing stories to drawing to composing music, my imagination was always active. Then one day some friends made an improv movie for fun, and that was it. I wanted to be a filmmaker. So I taught myself. I read college level textbooks and started making a feature length film. Around the same time I formed an LLC of one and started offering professional video for small businesses and startups. Both of these things were hard, and eventually despair set in. The movie was bad. Business was slow. I gave up on both of those things. I saw no future.

Then I was offered a freelance job as a videographer and photographer at 316 Strategy Group, with the hope that it would turn into a full-time position. There I learned to think fast and adapt to a wide variety of new situations. But three years later, the promise of full-time work was retracted. Believing I had no talent, I left video production and worked several unskilled jobs from custodial work to food service.

But something changed. A friend of mine who was a vice president at Spirit Juice Studios, a multiple Midwest-chapter Emmy winning video production company, reached out to me. He said he saw my work on social media and wanted to consider me for a position as a full-time colorist. So I flew to Chicago where the company was located and worked for a week on trial. The following week I was given the job.

So I left Nebraska where I had lived my whole life and moved to Chicago. It was exciting. Within three months of starting, I worked on a documentary that aired on ABC. Then I worked on a documentary that later won an Emmy in New York. I loved it, and received nothing but praise for my work.

But as time went on, I noticed a few things. I had interests outside of color. I loved the abstract and creative conversations that the directors had. I loved having a vision. But to the contrary, my work was highly technical and detail oriented. And I never felt safe in Chicago. So when Jordan Peterson predicted global famine, I knew it was time to return to the economically stable state of Nebraska.

But I was different. I had broken new ground. I had accomplished something. My work was finally validated by top-tier professionals in the industry. Equipped with new confidence and determination, I pursued the entrepreneurial lifestyle once again. I’m not giving up this time.

Now, I work with clients to tell powerful stories. I help them develop a vision for their brands and express it through video. I love making business art that stirs the soul.