Every morning before my two boys head out the door, I ask them the same question.
"What are you going to do today?"
In unison, they holler back: "Be nice. Have fun. Work hard. I love you."
Now, I'll admit, it's a little manipulative to train your kids to tell you they love you every morning. But so far, that little bit of wisdom has served me pretty well. Raising boys, building creative teams, and just trying to make my way through this wacky world.
I grew up in Utah. My dad was a stonemason, so I learned young that there's something to be said for honest work, knowing your craft, and being able to stand back at the end of the day and feel good about what you've made.
My own craft took shape in skate parks, hardcore punk shows, and the wild west of the early internet.
I built websites on Angelfire, booked tours over AIM, put records out on MySpace, and taught myself Photoshop because my bands needed flyers, shirts, and album covers. We didn't have much money, and nobody was lining up to help, so we made do with what we had and figured things out as we went.
Turns out, that's not a bad way to learn how to work.
Music took me around the world, put me in rooms with all kinds of interesting people, and eventually led me into advertising. I've spent time at places like Vice, Edelman, and McCann, helping brands like Unilever, Diageo, Intel, and Cisco figure out what they wanted to say and how to say it in a way folks might care about.
These days, I'm an Executive Creative Director at Adobe, leading global creative work across our brand and products. It's a pretty good gig. I get to build teams, bring new things into the world, untangle complicated problems, and work with talented people from just about everywhere.
I've been fortunate enough to lead big campaigns, make things seen by millions of people, and work alongside some of the sharpest creative minds around. But the part I like best hasn't changed much since those early days making flyers with my friends:
Get some good people together, give 'em a chance to go big, and watch the magic happen.
After a whole lot of miles and a few different places to call home, I found my way back to Utah. My wife and I are raising our two boys in the mountains, not too far from where I grew up.
Some of my favorite days are the ones we spend wandering trails, exploring the mountains, and getting out into nature together. There's something about fresh air, dirty shoes, and seeing the world through my boys' eyes that makes everything else seem a little less important. Between family, work, and still hollering into microphones in hardcore punk bands, life keeps me plenty busy.
I've been at this professionally for going on twenty years, and I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two. Mostly that there's always more to learn, that good ideas can come from just about anywhere, and that you're better off surrounding yourself with people who know things you don't.
I reckon the tools will keep changing. The industry will too. And Lord knows the world's not getting any less strange.
But I keep coming back to the same things I try to teach my boys every morning.
Be nice. Have fun. Work hard.
And don't forget to tell your people you love them.
