We hear it all the time… “don’t fall in love with success, fall in love with the process”. Anyone who has shifted their mindset towards one of growth and progression through life whether in regards to their challenges, their careers, their passions, their personal development and health or any growth in their life, will know this. But why? Why is it that we have to fall in love with the process? I can’t say for sure, as we all have our individual processes which make us unique but I would like to try and talk about “the process” and why you should learn to love yours.

For me, understanding the process is important not only as a mentality towards overcoming challenges and reaching goals in life, but through a more creative understanding as well. My design work is heavily driven by process – trial and error, iteration after iteration. A process that is not always linear – in fact, most times it is not. This is the process by which theories are developed, tested, modified, and deployed in what we can only hope is the most effective manner. There’s a reason we don’t get it right on the first time. Understanding the process of your own life, your journey through the ups and downs of your daily routine, the challenges you face while trying to become the person you always wanted to become, is important for many reasons.

In your early 20’s you are at a unique stage of life. You know a lot, but you also don’t know a lot. You’ve experienced a lot, but you really have not experienced all that much. To fall in love with success right away is to overlook the things you have yet to learn. To fall in love with success right away is to look past opportunities to take your success in new directions. When you allow your process to be your motivation, you have given yourself the opportunity to try new things, within which you may discover new passions, new talents, new connections and maybe even an entirely new life that you could live. The reason I wanted to speak about process is because this past weekend I was reminded of my own.

There have been countless times in my past where I have questioned my own decisions. Not because they were bad, but because they seemed so obsolete to any kind of progress I was trying to make in other areas of my life. I wanted to be an Architect since I was in middle school but for some reason my High School Videography class sparked a real interest in me. I questioned that. I wanted to be a designer but for some reason I would listen to music and start imagining melodies of my own, adding beats where I felt they worked and harmonizing in my own way. I questioned that too. I questioned my desire to do anything that seemed “out of the way” of what I had envisioned as a successful Architect.

Several years later, on a hot – very hot – Saturday morning I found myself filming two videos for my clothing brand. Joined by people that I have been blessed to have in my life, I looked at them all wearing the brand and thought to myself… “None of this would have been possible if I had stopped doing the things I questioned” If I had cut my process short, only making decisions based on the destination I deemed as “success” I would not have been able to do what I did. Moments like these, where you can visualize your past decisions and see how they have added up to who you have become are special. I urge you to do that. Take a hard look at everything you have been through, the way you thought about yourself when you were younger, the way you think about yourself now. See the patterns, notice the achievements, understand the lessons, and embrace the shortcomings. Understand that all these events are part of the story that makes you YOU.

The beauty of “The Process” is that it does not end, and that’s why it’s so important to fall in love with. As you go through it, and realize the things you like and don’t like, the things you want to keep and the things you want to change, you learn to love the growth that is stimulated by thinking this way. You learn things about yourself that you did not know. There will be days when you hate your process. Days where things don’t make sense at all. Days where it seems like you have absolutely no business doing what you are doing… but embrace that. There are many people who don’t know what they are passionate about, but they have a perfectly clear picture of what “success” is to them. While not knowing what you’re passionate about is okay, the way to actually find out is to let go of “destination success” and learn to love the journey. Try new things, fail at them. Try them again. Try a million things, that’s the process. Don’t give up until the process starts to fulfill you… because when you get to that point, you’re so much closer to success than you think you are!

As for this past weekend, I went with the intention of filming one very specific video. The whole thing was planned out in my head. After gathering all the footage from the day, I realized I had accidentally shot two videos… the process of creating one opportunity led me to another. If you have not yet watched the video we filmed this weekend check it out below! Another one will follow in the coming weeks!

The video showcases some of the newest ZULUECHO Products which are available now for worldwide shipping. If you have not yet joined the movement check out the brand here!

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to everybody in this film, and everybody who is not in this film but is still part of the ZULUECHO story… YOU guys are my process. You teach me, you motivate me, you help me get up when I fail. You are my process – thank you!

#zuluechoinitiative #growtogether