I could keep writing forever, but I am only allowed so many words. I’ve kept the information as precise as possible, and I’ve tried to limit my general rambling to a minimum. With that in mind, I’d like to distill the main points even further with five key takeaways.

Think of these as little slices of pizza that you can easily devour and enjoy, and see them as a recap that can prompt you to remember the valuable information you want to take into your life.

If you remember these five beauties you will be the creative badass I know you can be:

• THINK ABOUT JOB TEN, NOT JUST JOB ONE: Build long-lasting relationships and take time to get to know the people you work with. Nurturing an existing relationship is much easier than finding a new one. Build trust, communicate openly, and go the extra mile for your client. If you look after them, they’ll look after you. Remember to bring your personality to the table and embrace the human element of design.
• PROCESS, PROCESS, PROCESS: Work hard at your creative practice and always remain in control of your work. Never stop tweaking your process and continue to evolve the way you work and communicate. A solid process will be your friend in the good times and the bad. Let your clients know your work methods right from the start, and never stray from that. The client has come to you because you’re the expert. Remember to watch out for those red flags when working with someone new.
• YOU CAN’T DO IT ALL: Consider the power of collaboration and the money you can make as the facilitator. Say yes to everything within reason and find people who will help complete projects you can’t do yourself. Be the person clients calls when they need something. Surround yourself with the right people and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Partner with other talented humans and build a network of awesomeness. Your creative skills are more important than your administrative skills. Releasing some control will give you longevity in the industry.
• NEVER STOP LEARNING: Remain curious and open to new challenges. When you think you know everything, you might as well stop. Pushing for more knowledge will help you become a true leader. Research your industry and others. Consistently growing your knowledge base will help you long into the future.
• BE YOURSELF: Being authentic is the most difficult thing a person can do, but it’s the most powerful asset you have. There’s only one you. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else and enjoy the freedom that being yourself can bring to your professional and personal lives. Being yourself is much easier than trying to be someone else. You’ll attract the right people like a magnet and never have to hide in the darkness. Shine brightly, my friends. You are here for a reason. The world needs you.

This point could have been number six on the list, but I wanted to make it a bigger deal. Patience is the one thing that stops people from reaching their true potential. We all develop at different speeds—I created my first logo when I was about twenty-five, and before that I was an idiot who thought the world owed me something.

A successful career doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to grow into a fully functioning machine of creative awesomeness. It takes time to build a client base, and that is true for everyone. The people you look up to have put in many years of hard work and struggled along the way. They made it because they were patient with themselves.

A huge amount of patience is needed to know what you want to do in life. Ignore the noise about growing 100,000 social media followers in six months. All of that is ego based and not sustainable. Plus, who cares about beating the algorithm?

Spend your early years taking time to grow and explore. Why give up after two years? If we’re lucky, we have about a forty-year career span in any chosen industry. There’s no need to rush or hack your way to the top of the creative pyramid. As with any business, you have to earn your stripes, and when you see progress you’ll know it’s well deserved through hard work and effort.

Look after yourself and be patient with yourself. You will not regret it.

This little part of our journey together is coming to a close, and I must admit, it’s been an absolute blast chatting with you. There is no straight path in life—well, not that I’ve found—but that’s what makes it so interesting and never boring. You will hit hurdles, have hardships, and experience pain along the way, but you will also find love, friendship, and opportunities you never thought possible.

The journey I’ve shared in this book has been filled with mistakes, pain, luck, tra suma, wins, losses, positives, negatives, and most importantly, red crayons. I’m sure the coming years will be mostly the same; in the next chapter I’ll be slightly more in control because of what I’ve learned, and I’ve shared that with you in this book.

Enjoy the process of figuring yourself out, learning new things, building flourishing relationships, and, last but not least, becoming a badass creative who uses their skills to help others. You will never have it all figured out, so embrace change with open arms and enjoy the journey of becoming you. And never let anyone tell you you’re not good enough.

My mate Beth from Plastic Freedom asked me this question during her podcast: “If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?”

I said, “I would tell myself not to change a thing.”