Connecting the Dots ...
The pursuit of the sense of purpose has led me to many amazing places and opportunities in my life. Only a few years back I came across the Japanese philosophy ikigai which tries to help you find happiness in what you do. And once I heard Steve Jobs coining the line “You can only connect the dots looking back” I was convinced that I accidently applied that way of thinking most of my life.
Watch Steve Job’s 2005 Stanford Commencement Address here. “Stay hungry – stay foolish”
My Personal Story
The very first “dot” may be the day I discovered a simple game on a demo CD where you could place Disney characters on different backgrounds and animate them slightly following a timeline. I was in awe even though it was ridiculously simple. Creating a scene and telling a story with the limited assets was inspiring to say the least.
Flash forward to my obsession with video games and Manga – both in a way tools to tell a story. The latter uses “quick images” that despite the name often times take a lot of time and without a doubt a lot of talent to convey scenes and emotions. Video games on the other hand gave you as the “consumer” a feeling of being an active participant – making in a way YOUR story.
I was interested in drawing and graphic design but thankfully my sister introduced me to an art school which offered film and multimedia art. My decision to leave my home town and enroll in this school catapulted me into so many new layers of storytelling.
If you are interested in pursuing a career in Film, Video and Multimedia Art I highly suggest HTBLVA Ortweinschule in Graz – or similar schools and colleges close to your home.
South Africa
Of course, following your path (even though you might not know where it might lead you – yet) requires you to leave some things behind. Familiarity of a town, your friends and family or the comfort of your own bed. Stepping out of your comfort zone makes it all worth it though and one can grow to the person you need to be and get closer to your way of Ikigai.
The serendipity of knowing a South African resident (my father) led me to my most recent adventure – emigrating. A fortuitous position at a marketing firm for professional services helped me further my career. Most of my skills that I had acquired so far were useful for my position and I could combine them in multiple ways. Drawing up storyboards, animating and editing was my primary function. Knowing that our clients were impressed and happy with the results gave me the boost I needed. Looking back to my first amateurish attempts to animate in a kid’s game I could have never guessed that I would end up animating logos or putting together a story with now multiple assets on hand.
As the founder and chief visionary officer of LEVIGA, it is my goal to not only produce content that our clients and we are proud of, but to also invite them to think about their own purpose, what they can add to this world and how they can achieve happiness in their work.
To create a life for yourself that you don’t need a vacation from – the big goal. Align yourself with your purpose and you are on your best way to achieve that.
