A few days ago, I shared with you the story of I walked away from the thing I spent 10 years building. The weight of leaving something I’d invested so much in, the fear of disappointing people, the feeling of starting over, and your comments proved that this was a shared reality.
Yesterday, I found myself standing in front of high school students at Pixel Pioneers Fest, and I realized something: these kids needed to hear that exact story.
When I asked what they wanted to be when they grow up, and just like my nephew told me recently, one said “a streamer”, a career that didn’t even exist five years ago. These students are entering a world where the rules have completely changed, where you can pivot, combine interests, and build things that don’t fit traditional categories.
And maybe that’s exactly the freedom they need.
Most of us have ideas. Random ones, all the time. The problem isn’t lacking ideas, it’s picking one and actually doing something about it.
I asked the students to write down one thing they’d build if they spent six months on it. Some struggled. Others wrote down three different things. Sound familiar?
You Don’t Have to Be One Thing
Here’s what I wish someone had told me earlier: You can combine your interests in ways that don’t make sense to anyone else, and more importantly, you can change directions without losing everything you’ve already built.
I told them my story.
I started architecture, spent ten years on it, then walked away. But here’s the thing, none of those skills disappeared when I left. The problem-solving, the attention to detail, the ability to visualize ideas and bring them to life.
I started a printing service from my dorm room at 15. Students needed designs for their flyers, so I learned design. They needed those flyers printed, so I had both sides covered. Then I used the proceeds from my printing business to buy a camera and that small camera led to shooting events, which taught me storytelling.
Everything connected. Nothing was wasted.
It’s also important to SSS…
Start Stupid Small!
FotoPool, the app we built that now has 11,000+ users across 40 countries started because someone’s wedding photos got lost when a camera crashed.
We didn’t set out to revolutionize photo-sharing, we just wanted to solve one annoying problem: why is it so hard to share photos at events without the iPhone vs Android drama?
That’s it. One problem. Simple solution.
So what can you do right now?
Stop waiting for the perfect idea. Pick the one that keeps coming back to you. The one you’d be excited to spend six months learning about.
Then answer these questions:
What problem does it solve?
Who is it for?
How would it work?
Don’t make it complicated. Use what you have. Learn as you go.
Now it’s your turn…
Maybe you’re like those students, full of ideas but not sure where to start…
Or maybe you’re stuck thinking you have to get it right the first time.
You don’t.
I spent ten years studying something I eventually walked away from, and it turned out to be the best preparation for what I’m doing now.
Those students have something most adults lose, they haven’t been taught all the reasons why their ideas won’t work yet.
Start where you are. Build something small. See what happens… and remember, changing your mind later doesn’t mean you failed. It means you grew.
What’s the one idea you keep coming back to?
Want the same framework I shared with the students? Get the lecture workbook here
If you’d prefer to watch this on YouTube, click here
Let’s keep building.
Your partner in figuting life out,
Dim
