I’m 28 years old. That means that I’ve already spent at least 1/3 of my life (and that’s only if I have a “natural” death when I’m 75, or so). I haven’t done squat with my life; at least by my standards I haven’t. That’s not to say that I haven’t worked hard to get to where I am – because I have. I just feel I could be doing so much more.
Too many people find themselves at the end of their lives with more regrets, then they do accomplishments. That’s not to say that I won’t have regrets when I find myself slipping away into that dark abyss called “death” – because I will. I just hope to be happy with what I’ve done with my life.
There’s something I do on a regular basis. Whenever I’m laying down for a nap, or mindlessly staring at a television screen, I usually find myself thinking, “What the fuck are you doing? Get your ass up and do something worthwhile!“. I really hate wasting time on things – like naps – that I could otherwise do without. That’s one reason I don’t don’t play video games very often. I feel better about my time I spend, when I spend it being productive.
I’m not perfect. I have many, many flaws. Everyone does. That’s why the way I choose to live my life may not apply to you. You may feel fine with following a more secure path – and there’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone’s different. I just hope that you feel at ease with the decisions you’ve made in your life when darkness starts to fall over your eyes.
I’m not a big fan of being alone. I crave the comfort of being around other people. Having someone there that you can bounce ideas off of, or collaborate with – it’s awesome. That’s what I love about coworking. It allows for collective collaboration of creative individuals in a friendly and open environment.
I’ve had an interest in coworking for some time now. Early last year, I was involved in trying to get a coworking space setup in Little Rock. Even though it didn’t work out, I learned a lot of what’s needed to get a coworking space started. Mainly what’s needed is a willingness to work hard to see it through.
Fast forward to today.
When I attended this year’s LessConf, I had a great conversation with one of the presenters, Alex Hillman, the founder of a coworking space in Philadelphia called IndyHall. That conversation sparked a newfound interest in me to get a coworking space started in my community. So as soon as I got back from the conference I spoke with a few of my friends and they had a similar interest in seeing something like this started in Conway; thus Conway Coworking was born.
We have our first meeting planned for June 9th at 6pm at Starbucks on Oak St. in Conway. We’re going to use the meeting to gauge interest in the community and find out what creative professionals in Conway are looking for in a coworking space. We want to make sure that we provide them a proper space for their creative output.
If you’re a creative individual, you should join us. It’s gonna rock.
There’s a quote from Chris McCandless I carry around with me, that says, “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism … nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.”
Many of us will go through our lives with something inside of us burning to be set free, but we’re too scared to embrace it. This is no way to live a life. I know from experience.
That’s why from here on out I’m just going to fucking do it. I’m going to embrace the things inside of myself that I should have embraced a long time ago. I think you should too.
2.) Friends are invaluable
I love my friends. I can’t even begin to thank everyone that helped me make this possible. This event was everything I had hoped it would be and without their help, I wouldn’t have gotten to experience it. You guys are to best. (You know who you are.)
3.) I’ve got a lot to learn
I’ve procrastinated long enough. It’s time to learn a programming language, other that HTML. I spoke with Evan Light, owner of We Are Titans, a Ruby on Rails shop, and he was super helpful in helping me find the right reading materials to start learning Ruby.
4.) Passion is great, but without talent it doesn’t mean jack
Sure, with enough passion you can find a way to get anything done – for the most part. But in web design and development if you don’t have the chops, your likelihood of succeeding is seriously diminished.
In closing…
I came away from last years LessConf with a high that lasted for months. And then life got in the way – bills, family, responsibilities, ext. I remember now why the event had such a powerful effect on me. Being around super talented individuals who were doing amazing things challenged me to do amazing things myself. This year was no different.
LessConf 3010 is only a few days away. I really enjoyed last years conference and I’m excited about attending this years. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it this year due to my financial situation, but I was able to find a couple of sponsors and a roommate, so now its all good. It should be a lot of fun and very informative. Allan and Steve have got some amazing speakers lined up for the event – like, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson from 37signals.
Here’s the promotional trailer:
Also, I’d like to thank Paul Strack, from CustomXM Printing, for helping this come together. Allan Branch for the love and for throwing this kick-ass event. And Aaron Deckler, from Lolight Design, for being my roommate and cuddle-bunny for the duration of my stay in Atalanta.