Viktor Bijlenga

A good interview as usually on The Great Discontent. Nicholas feels like a humble man who puts a lot of work into his projects. I admire that dedication to create something new. I read his piece of advice to young people starting out, twice.

> The approach that served me really well was to make stuff all the time. Even when I was working full-time, I was always freelancing, doing work for others on the side, or working on personal projects. Certainly, the Annual Report personal project has elevated my career enormously, but it was only one of many personal projects that I tried along the way—no one gave a hoot about most of them. Not letting that discourage me, I kept trying other things. It wasn’t about finding “the idea,” but putting things out that I thought were worth doing and seeing if anyone cared. If not, I moved along. You learn as you go, and it gets easier or your point of view becomes more refined.

> Most of the time when I give advice, I’m unconsciously doing a poor imitation of my mom, which is fitting, because she was probably the wisest person I’ve ever met. She’d say: be kind to yourself and others, and smile if you’re able. Take care of the people you love, and try to make yourself known and understood. Dial it down, work with your hands, keep it quiet, and share what you know.

I liked this part of Franks personal post. It sounds like my mom&dad, and I love them.

> Young people want everything immediately, but it takes time. What I love about our industry is that it doesn’t matter what kind of degree you have: you have to show up and show people what you can do. There’s no bullshitting yourself through an interview process. You have to work really hard for it, and there’s an honesty to it that I love.

A quote from one of my heroes, [Tim Van Damme](http://maxvoltar.com). He is one of the reasons that I started out and started believed in what I spend a lot of time doing every day. It takes time. I know.

> All we have in life is our time. People struggle after success. They hunger for fame, fortune, and power. But in all of these things, the same question exists — what will you do with your time? How do you want to spend your days? As Annie Dillard reminds us, “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

> In life, you will become known for doing what you do. That sounds obvious, but it’s profound. If you want to be known as someone who does a particular thing, then you must start doing that thing immediately. Don’t wait. There is no other way. It probably won’t make you money at first, but do it anyway. Work nights. Work weekends. Sleep less. Whatever you have to do. If you’re lucky enough to know what brings you bliss, then do that thing at once. If you do it well, and for long enough, the world will find ways to repay you.

Thoughtful words by Jonathan Harris.