Its been a little over a month since Phoenix Design Week and the glow has faded and true perspective has started to kick in.
The event was a success, sure. Tons of people did an amazing amount of work to put on a really beautifully orchestrated event. Attendance exceeded expectations. And, except for a few hiccups, everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves, gotten something valuable out of the event, and made new connections and friends along the way. We were really able to raise some awareness for the design community in Phoenix. We did A LOT of good.
It’d be easy to be satisfied and revel in the success of the week. From what people have been telling me, it was a really amazing first year event, and worthy of pride. I completely agree.
but…
There’s so much more to do! So much more to accomplish.
We’re starting to use the momentum for great things, with things like Sprawl, the year-long effort of Phoenix Design Week (info coming soon), and new clubs starting like Motion Graphics Phoenix. The community, (twitter hash #phxdc), is now connected like never before, but this is not the time for complacency, not the time to be satisfied.
This is how I treat almost everything I do. People have tried to accuse me of having an ego after Design Week, as if one tiny blip of an event will undo years of self-hating. Not true. All its done is given me an energy to push forward with plans to improve this city. Its given me a team of amazing people to work with towards similar ends: Better design for Phoenix, and a better Phoenix for design.
So, I would say to anyone doing successful things: Get over it. Keep going, you are never close to being done or reaching your goals. Be like me and dislike yourself and dislike everything you do the second it’s over, and wake up feeling the need to do something better than before, better than yesterday, better than you think you can be.
Hating yourself is the new pride.
Be sure to take an hour, a night or even an entire day to revel in success. It will feel good.
Success breeds two things – complacency and a desire for more success. The ratio to which these two things show up is the measure of greatness. Keep on being great Dudlik.
Mark, glad #phxdw was such a great event and that it’s given you energy to push forward! Better design is good for the soul. Wish I was helping with that but I am design impaired.
While it’s tiring, gotta keep raising the bar for ourselves as you mentioned. You need to give yourself a break on the self-hate though. Better for you if you’re compelled forward by the carrot rather than the stick. Keep your eyes ahead on the goal and quit beating yourself up. : )