Freelance Week 01

Here are a few things I learned my first week of self-employment:

1. To-do lists are important

2. Coffee should always be black

3. Getting dressed for work in the morning makes me more productive

4. An open line of communication with my client(s) is key

5. More coffee is never a bad thing

6. Family time is refreshing

7. Plenty of sleep is most important

It's tough to put into words how I feel after just one week of freelancing. It's good and challenging all at the same time. Some days are stressful, other days are cake. But all in all I know I'm in the right place, and that is what keeps me going. The obstacles that are waiting for me are nothing to be compared with the feeling of victory afterwards.

One of my goals this year is to share my journey with you each week. And hopefully we can learn from each other, instead of feeling like we're all on our own. I hope your new year is off to a great start. Stay creative.

The Next Step

The coming new year marks a new beginning for me as a husband/artist/believer. I will be foregoing the comforts of a steady paycheck in pursuit of a more fulfilling life. Saying it out loud, or in the case typing it in the computer, really solidifies it. I think it's a part of my maturing process to not only go from thought to speaking it out loud, but then to also stand behind my words and be committed. Of course this hasn't been a quick decision to come to. There are many obstacles that have stood in my way. The biggest being my own fear. But over the course of the last two years I have continually prayed and sought the Lord on what I should do. Some days I felt really empowered to pursue my dreams, and others I was down right afraid. But I felt the Lord giving me the strength this year to prepare to walk by faith more.

The question I get asked most when I tell someone is "what kind of work do you want to do?" And I don't want to put myself in a box, but I feel the obvious direction is one of illustration and art. I've had to be really honest with myself about what satisfies my soul and where I see myself in the years to come. And building websites is not it. I love the web for one reason, the people. The endless pursuit of technology is tiring. But I'm of the opinion if a client/project is a good fit then you shouldn't limit what platform you create on.

My desire is to build things with my bare hands that reflect truth in a beautiful way. Whether that's with a pen and paper or on a computer. At the end of the day I want to build a relationship with my client(s) and make stuff that's awesome. Is it going to be easy? Probably not. But living out the dreams of your heart isn't meant to be easy. The challenges that lie in wait for me are nothing compared to the victories on the other side.

Lastly, I want to say thank you to all who have walked with me and encouraged me over these past couple of years. Your words and prayers have not been in vain. I am really excited about what the future holds and couldn't do it without the love and support of my family, friends and awesomely supportive wife.

Out of the woods

I recently spent 4 days in the Ouachita mountains in western Arkansas with 5 other men. It was a time of rest and bonding over doing what we men do best, chop wood, grill meat and drink whiskey. If you would've told me 10 years ago that's what men of God did when they got together then I would've laughed. But I continue to learn that God doesn't fit inside our safe little boxes. The over-arching theme of the trip was to be get back to the heart of a man. Letting go of what the "church" has told a man he should be and just living out of our rough, wild and adventurous nature. Too many times have I sat idly by and watched the desires of my heart pass me by because I was told it wasn't safe to follow my heart. Well you know what? The heart of a man isn't safe, just like it's creator.

When I am faced with adventure my heart puts on boots and grabs an axe. When I am under pressure my heart stands up and says "bring it on". The world, nay the church, doesn't need another generation of emasculated men with polite manners and a clean cut. I think that verse in 1 Peter about judgement starting at the house of God somehow applies here. We, as men, must take a cold hard look in the mirror of the Holy Spirit and ask Him to help us regain our strength.

I read this in Proverbs:

"A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man" - Proverbs 24:33,34

There is a deep need in this world for men to wake up to their calling. To stop "folding our hands" over the xbox controller and get off the couch. We are only given one day at a time. I am earnestly praying to know what it means to give each day all I've got in respect to work, family and faith. My heart isn't satisfied anymore with the affections of my youth.

Note to self

Dear future self, If there's one thing you will continue to stumble over again and again, it's being right. Your soul thrives on having the right answers, directions, advice, etc. and fears the thought of ever being wrong and looking like an idiot.

But trust the words of wisdom your friend/pastor said to you this morning, "being right is overrated." Your heart was encouraged by that truth. So as you walk, day by day, in the newness of Christ, remember to go to the Father in prayer and ask Him to handle whatever situation you're in according to His will.

That's the place where true freedom reigns. In forgiveness.

Face to face

The internet offers us so many new relationships on any given day. We can chat, tweet, skype, etc. to anyone in the world. But if you only ever stay behind a computer and don't make your way to meet up with anyone face-to-face, then you're missing the whole point. The whole value of the internet is people. But we can often lose sight of that with all the other distractions going on. I feel like I may be repeating myself here, but I don't care, people are the point. Not your stats, feeds, likes or whatever constantly has you checking your phone while you're out to dinner with another living, breathing human being.

Once we learn to rule our technology instead of letting it rule our day-to-day lives we will be much happier. The internet, in all it's vastness, is just another tool. It doesn't define us, never was meant to and could never contain what makes us who we are. The human heart pumps warm red blood through our veins, and we should respect that.

The Consumer Church

It's not just good enough to buy Toms shoes to make a difference in this world. Faith without actions is dead works. It's that simple. God didn't give us brains and hearts to sit around and wait for some "voice from heaven" to come and tell us what to do. The world doesn't care if we follow our hearts, but we are depriving it of our gifts if we don't. The first step in any recovery program is admitting you have a problem. Well I'm here to admit I have a problem with us as the church. We say we care, yet we continue to spend millions of dollars on new buildings and lighting and sound equipment. We say we tithe, yet we continue to live in debt and live way beyond our means. Our sh*t stinks and the world knows it. We aren't fooling anyone.

But there is hope. I believe there is a major rebirth of artists going on right now within the church. As an artist myself I sense all this stuff welling up inside of me. It feels like the only way I can combat the selfish man inside of me. Making something is much more satisfying to me than buying something these days. And not just for myself, but for all humanity. I believe if we can raise up artists, respect them and let them contribute to the conversation then we might be surprised what will happen.

Charting my course

Finding ones own voice in the midst of a million other people is not an easy task. There are many mountains to climb and many valleys to walk through. But I don't think anything compares to that voice inside your head that makes you think you're not any good. It's the doubt that stands in the way for all of us most of the time. We have that "blank page" fear of starting something new. But if we never made the first mark then how would we know it's any good? Like riding a bike, so has it been for drawing in my life. As a child I loved to draw all the time, but growing up I found other things to keep me busy. So I didn't draw as much. Starting a journal was the best I could do at times. Making doodles on the edges of the paper. And not until a few years ago did I finally wake up to the reality that I am most comfortable with a pen in my hand. Just like riding a bike, it came back so natural for me.

My recent redesign of my website, kylesteed.com, is more about who I am as a person than what I do as a designer.  I wanted/needed it to reflect who I am and still showcase the work I have done. But, for me, the work is secondary. My biggest challenge was making sure the work reflected who I am and not the other way around. Thus is the challenge in all things I do.

I feel like this is a major milestone in my journey as a designer. One that I will look back on 10 years from now with a smile on my face. It feels like I've climbed a mountain and now I can look out over the valleys below, catch my breath, and take in the beautiful sight. Surely I would be a fool to think this is the highest peak along my journey, I know harder and more rewarding challenges await, but for now I am happy with where my feet are standing.