Questions are powerful.

In Jim Antonopoulos’s weekly journal this week he stressed the importance of asking questions, that questions are powerful. He is not wrong. He supplied a list of questions, mostly simple but powerful in their depth. Jim often talks about the lack of self-awareness in the creative industry. Forcing yourself to answer questions like this is a great way to turn the lens back on yourself.

I sat down on a sunny Saturday morning and tried to answer them as best I can. It was a very rewarding exercise. I highly recommend it and would love to hear your answers!

What comes to mind when you think about growing up in your hometown?

Long summers playing cricket on the lawn in the heat, weekend trips to the city for fries and my childhood fave sarsparilla.

What did you love to do as a child — so much so, you lost track of time?

Riding my bike, it was my first taste of freedom and as I grew I would explore more and more. I loved the fact that my legs could take me anywhere I could go!

If your grandparents left a message to you what do you think they would say?

I am lucky enough to have two alive still. But all four I think would tell me to follow my dreams and enjoy life to the fullest.

When your partner met you, how did they know you were the one?

Only she can tell us that, but we had a really strong connection from day 1. I would hesitate a guess that she would say that I ‘got her’.

How did you choose your career and what was your favourite part about it?

Out of desperation, living in London and fed up with two shit jobs. Through the quiet pressure of my then girlfriend, now wife I decided to take the plunge and become a freelance ‘designer’. My favourite part of it overall is that no two days are the same.

What do you believe about yourself that helps you deal with adversity?

That I have the power to change the things that are not working for me.

When was your toughest time?

Hrmmm. Good question. I think in hindsight my early 20’s were quite tough. Even though they were fun at the time I was pretty lost and caught up in some bad mental loops and a fairly dangerous lifestyle. It’s crazy looking back now, age 18–25 felt like a lifetime.

Who have you helped this week?

I have been mentoring a university student, Rose Hernan. We had our last session this week, I would like to think in my ramblings I passed on something of use for her career growth!

Which three events most shaped your life?

Tough to pick just three. I’ll go with three that I think have had a significant impact.

1. Being born in the part of the world, in the time in history to the family I have. It is incredible how lucky I was to grow up in such a supportive and loving environment in such a lucky country and such a revolutionary time in history.

2. buying Lagwagon Duh. Punk music helped shape my teenage years and formed a shell of my personal philosophy and outlook on life. Music, in general, has been a constant, positive element in my life.

3. Travel / moving to London. Travelling and then living abroad helped to reset my life and give me the platform I needed to break free and create my own destiny. Up until then, I felt as if I was running in a hamster wheel.

Which three people most shaped your life?

My Mum Mandy. She has been supportive of my every move since day one. She showed us the passion for life and never-ending enthusiasm. My Dad, Steve. He has always shown infinite love and care and instilled a passion for reading in me early which I would not have got half as far as I have had today without.

My Siter Lucy. We have been best buds since I met her at age 2. She is someone I can talk to about anything and that I know will always have my back.

My Wife, Blakeley. Without trying she helped turn me into the man I am today. I have no idea why she puts up with me, but she does and she makes getting up every day worthwhile.

Are you scared to be a parent?

One of the curveballs that life has thrown us is that we can not have children. We have dealt with this on our own terms and are at peace with it. The hardest part is the feeling of letting down our families. But the hand has been dealt and we will play it the best we can!

If you could leave a message for your 12-year old self, what would it say?

Don’t give one single damn about what others think of you. You do you! There is so much I would like to say that I think would have dramatically changed my path in life. But hindsight is a luxury we do not have in the present.

What will they say after you’re gone?

I’d hope they say I lived my life to it’s fullest and touched a few people along the way. Geez, that sounds creepy.

Who are you?

Deep question.

One of my favourite songs is ‘Knowledge’ by Operation Ivy. I first heard it when I was 14. It is the perfect anthem for growing up. The chorus is a play off the ‘Socratic Paradox’ — All I Know Is That I Don’t Know Nuthin. I would like to think this is a philosophy I have tried to weave into my life. The idea that nothing is permanent. I grew up watching people getting older and so set in their ways and it worried me. Australians love to take sides and let sport, politics and culture define them. The lyrics

We get told to decide — Just like as if I’m not gonna change my mind

really struck a chord with me. I did not want to get stuck in a life that was defined by one thing or another. Keeping an open mind and practising critical thinking allows me to meander through life with different perspectives. I would like to think that, in at least a small way I am a person who has embraced this concept and tried to live a life brimming to the edge with the full spectrum of human experience. I love to keep learning.

What do you think the world needs more of right now?

Critical thinking, perspective and love. Cliche. But universal love would change the world, we all have the same worries and fears. We are going through such a dramatic growth in human population and an incredible revolution in technology, the next 50 years are going to define the future for our species and without love for our fellow man and an understanding that we are all one, we are heading to a very very bad place.

What does your ideal day look like? From the moment you wake up, to the moment you go to bed.

Wake up before dawn on the Yorke Peninsula. It is warm outside with a slight easterly breeze. Drive down to Innes. A solid 3 -4 foot groundswell is pumping with no one out. Paddle out at pondie and get two hours of solid lefts almost to myself. Come home and Blakes is up and making bacon and egg sandwiches. We sit on the deck and watch the pelicans on the beach and drink warm coffee and let the egg drip onto our legs without worry. Some mates arrive and we drag the boat out from the dunes and fill it with bait and beer and sit in the sun catching squid and whiting. We see some dolphins up by the reef and anchor the boat and jump into the ocean with the pod swimming around us inquisitively. We walk back up the beach carrying the fish and the girls have set the table and are drinking rose. We cook the fish fresh and quick on the BBQ and enjoy a long lunch of laughs and wine. More wine follows and we sit on the deck eating cheese and watching the colours change on the water and tell drunken stories. Once the sun is gone the stars appear and full of wine and we stagger down to the beach and lie on the sand, it is still hot and we lie looking up spotting shooting stars and getting lost in the infinite glow of space…

What are the three worst decisions you’ve ever made? What did you learn?

Trying to find a definitive answer to this is pretty hard. Here are 3 impactful ones though.

1. Going back to Uni the second time. I dropped out of Vis Comm in my second year. I did not feel as if it was for me. Instead, I decided to run away to Perth and pursue a ‘music’ career. Upon returning to Adelaide (broke and with no idea what I was doing) I decided the safety of Uni would be the best decision. Whilst I took some gems away from the 1.5 years I was studying Media, overall I feel it was wasted money (which I am still paying off) and time. I learnt that you should not always do the ‘easy and comfortable’ thing.
2. This seems petty… but I have always regretted not buying my Grandfathers fishing boat. He became unwell and had stopped fishing and it had sat unused for many years. I was in my 20’s and an idiot and didn’t have the cash or inclination at the time. In hindsight, though it is something that I really wish I had done. It was a connection to my childhood and to him. You need to trust your gut on some things.
3. This is not one decision but has impacted many in my life. I have a habit of second guessing myself. Many times I have held back or not given my all for fear of failure, judgement etc. It is something that looking back on my life so far I wish I had been able to cast aside. We only get one crack at this, who gives a stuff what other people think!=

What aren’t you most proud of?

Probably a fairly long list. I did some dumb stuff when I was younger. It all helped weave the tapestry of who I am now though. I think being naive and selfish probably hurt some people along the way, friends and family. I hope that I have made amends!

What are the three biggest metaphorical mountains you’ve climbed?

1. Starting my own business. It sounds much more glamorous than it was. It was very brash and probably crazy when I look back now. I quit two jobs and decided I was a ‘freelancer’. I had no idea what I was doing but I knew I wanted to do it. Taking that plunge and ‘defining’ myself as something more than just a 9–5'er was a leap for sure.
2. I took a risk and opened an office in Thailand in 2014. I was naive about jumping into the endeavour and it quite quickly began to chew through money. I had spent a huge amount of time and energy selling the idea to myself, my staff and my clients. The act of understanding it was going to bring us down and taking the measures to close it up was really hard for me to come to terms with. The lesson in hindsight was solid though, sometimes you just have to erase things that are not helping on your mission.
3. I have never really spoken about this publicly but I struggled with Anxiety for a number of years. It was a mountain I climbed on my own but in hindsight, I should have looked for help/advice. Mental Health still has such a stigma around it in our society, especially for men.

What are you most thankful for?

So many things. A supporting and loving family. A perfect wife, friend and partner in crime and lots of friends and colleagues around me, including my staff who make every day worth getting out of bed for!

What are you thinking of starting but are yet to begin?

This is a very long list. I am good at starting and not finishing. The no.1 on my list at the moment is learning Spanish. I have had several cracks over the years but I need to start again!

What are your vulnerabilities?

I think one of the ones that impact me the most is the fear of Saying NO to people. It is not good in business or my personal life. It is something I have been working on but still find hard. I also struggle to ask for help.

What is your most often used excuse?

I’m busy…

Why do you believe it?

I don’t really, it is a weak excuse that is an easy solution, Often it is a direct relation to the point above about not saying No, or not being clear in my communication. On my bedroom wall, I have the Lao Tzu quote — “Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small”

I need to actually practice it more!!!

What are you going to do this week, to push yourself out of your comfort zone?

I am going to write a list of the things I am involved in at work that I do not need to be, and actively distance myself from them. Replacing them with tasks that will create a positive impact on the business instead. I am also going to commit to a weekly post here on medium.

So many memories along this journey! Seoul, Korea — 2008