http://nocreativity.com

And just like that: 2011 is over. I have been through a lot of stuff in my life already, but I think it’s safe to say that 2011 was the most intense year in my life.

Just about a year ago I was sitting in this very spot, behind my computer, working about 20 hours per day to make the most important deadline of my life. I was working my ass off to create my demoreel. I worked 10 days straight. No breaks. Little sleep. No compromises. I set out to create something cool and I promised myself I wouldn’t settle for anything less. Towards the end of the project I was exhausted; close to the edge of throwing in the towel and giving up. I was lucky to have my girlfriend around that day because she was able to talk sense into me. She gave me that last little push so I’d finish what I’ve wanted to create for so long. And boy, it was worth it. She proved that I can do anything as long as I give everything. For that, I am grateful.

A few weeks later my dad called me to say he’s moving back to Luxemburg. Those of you who know me a bit better, know that I haven’t had a good relationship with my dad. So him moving away for good was actually good news. At the same time, it meant that he’d be selling the house I grew up in. That was quite hard for me, even though I haven’t been there much during the past 5 years.
A lot of strange things happened around that time. In the end I decided to take a step back from everything in order to get my life back in order.

A few weeks later we ( = Devine & NMCT students from the Howest University) went to San Francisco. Unlike many people, I turned out to experience San Francisco exactly as I always imagined it. I was always dreaming about moving to the States one day… You know: The kind of childhood dream that never let’s go. When I got back from San Francisco, I knew for sure: One day, I’ll move there. Visiting the USA was one of those things I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do for a very long time. One dream checked off the list.

While we were in San Francisco, we had the privilege of visiting many companies and even present our own work at some of them. When we were visiting Momentum Design Lab, I took a shot and presented my – at that point unfinished – Preso-project. I showed the strengths of the project while carefully covering up the buggy and sometimes missing parts. After my improvised presentation, a man came up to me and give my his business card while he said “When you’re back home, get in touch with me. We’ll talk”. The card said David Thomson. I looked up to him and asked him, who exactly he is. “I’m the CEO”. A week later, back in Belgium, I sent him an email. And while nothing big came out of that email-conversation, that one moment – when he gave me his card – gave me some kind of new energy: “I can do way better than that… And this guy is sold… Just wait until you see what I can do when I really stretch my legs“. Sure, it wasn’t a big international company we all have heard a lot about. But it left a major impression.

Then, on June 1st, I got a phone call saying that one of my best friends, Sarah, had died in a car accident. I still remember that day vividly. I remember being confused. It felt like one big nightmare. To this day I still don’t really grasp how she can be gone. I remember going to a movie with her just a few days earlier. She had this beautiful smile that would make every day seem a little better than the last. Everybody loved her.
That very day, I realized how fragile life really is. I miss you, Sarah. Every single day.

A few weeks later, while my girlfriend was doing her internship at Saatchi & Saatchi Brussels, she was telling me about the problems they were having to get a few banners produced. Apparently they were moving big budgets, just to get a few banners out. I was blown away. I told her to suggest me to create future banners. I would deliver within a few days (instead of weeks) for half the budget. And I would get it right straight away. Only days later I got a call from Saatchi. And yes: The very next morning at 7AM I delivered my first set of banners. I hoped to get a lot more work from them soon. But I didn’t.

Summer started and I went to Westende, to the empty house where I once grew up. I stayed there for a month while doing a summer job. I started wondering if I’d really wanted to stay in the digital industry. By the end of the summer -back in Kortrijk – I was about to apply for a job at an Apple Store in Ghent. I really thought about working in a store, instead of studying and creating cool stuff. So my girlfriend stepped in: “I’m tired of you just waiting and being unhappy. I’m tired of you not doing your thing! Prove yourself, god damned. It’s what your good at. Do what makes you happy. I miss the old you“. So, I recovered. For the 2nd time. I took a good look at my life. I had to figure out what I wanted to do…

A few days later, one of my lecturers – the one I liked and hated most at the same time – pointed it out to me: “Being a student has made you lazy. You’re getting too comfortable around here“. He was right. I had received numerous job offers from pretty big companies during the past 5 years. The first time I turned a job down was because I might need a bachelor degree if I ever wanted to become a lecturer myself. However, I can’t remember why I turned all the others down. Yes, he was right. I had gotten too comfortable. And it didn’t make me happy. Not even a bit. A few weeks later I decided to quit Devine, the university and my life as a student altogether.

I decided to start off as a freelancer and just see where things would go from there. It was a scary time in my life as I didn’t know the road ahead. There was no turning back from here. A week later I found myself doing some work for Saatchi & Saatchi again. This time at a pretty steady rate. At some point I had to jump in for a ‘tiny project‘. I still remember the words “Do you know something about expandable banners and video?”
I turned out to be building an MSN homepage take-over using Google’s DoubleClick Studio for 14 countries.
I had only half a day to figure out how DoubleClick Studio works and learn to use the custom-made components by Google. And everything had to be done by monday. I was briefed the Friday before. A lot of responsibility was resting on my shoulders. By Friday night I was pretty sure I could do it… But I was pretty much freaking out. What kind of budget is going up in smoke if I miss this deadline!? 14 countries? Are you crazy!? I went out with friends to have a drink and get my mind off work for an hour. But what I actually did was realizing that this was what I actually loved doing: I make things move. I create stuff. And I will meet the deadline.
By saturday morning 10AM I was done with the master files and I could finally get some sleep. They would be translated by the next day. By monday everything would be ready.

Not too long after that, I went to the Saatchi offices in Brussels where I met with one of the creative directors. I was trying to promote myself in order to make sure they would hire me more often for even bigger projects. Instead I walked out there with a job offer as a full-time project manager. We all know how that ended.
Today is the end of my 5th week at Saatchi & Saatchi Brussels (Yes, I have a day off today).

They say that time flies. Yes, it does. And it flies very fast. This year went by so fast, I can’t believe that within less than 36 hours we’re in 2012 already…

What has 2011 thought me?

• No matter how tough you think you are: sometimes it’s not enough. Luckily you have friends who will pull you through it, kicking and screaming.
• Don’t get comfortable. It makes you lazy. If something scares you, it probably means you’re on the right track. Just keep going and hope for the best.
• Do what you believe will make you happy. Don’t let nobody talk you out of it. If they do, you’ll do the safe thing. Something that won’t make you entirely happy… And it will slowly kill your inner child.
• Never hold back to tell your friends and family how much you love them. You don’t know what might happen tonight…. Maybe tomorrow it might be too late. They deserve to know how amazing you think they are.