It all started when I was 15.

So I opened up my LinkedIn feed just now and a little prompt was asking for people to share what they wanted to be when they were 15 years of age in celebration of LinkedIn's 15th birthday.

So I decided to take part in #WhenIWas15.

The age of 15 feels very Star Wars to me, as in a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

It was a formative age, one where for all intents and purposes I became an adult. I left school and got my first real job at 15. School was out. Grown up life was in.

To be honest I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life - I was embarking on an adventure without a destination. I was a boat with a broken compass and a dodgy rudder.

Yes I had dreams and aspirations - some wildly fanciful, others possibly achievable, and those that were just plain stupid.

From wanting to be a rock star to an actor, wanting to invent 'something', wanting to write books, wanting to be this, that, and some other things. There were lists, oh were there ever lists, so many lists.

One of my biggest problems was I didn't know where or how to start on many of my journeys and ideas. This lead to a lot of self-education, something I still do every day, yes every day.

I may have despised school, but I never despised actually learning something. It's just that for me and my attention deficit creative mind the traditional education system was about as stimulating as staring at a dead fly on a beige windowsill. But being only a young lad, in a government school, with barely passable grades, my voice and dissension was not about to change the Australian schooling system.

So after I left school I would take myself down to the local library and devour books, on all manner of topics and I would hit the magazine racks in stores and buy business magazines, yes from the age of 15 - I was a weird kid. I was also lucky enough to grow up in a book loving household and prior to leaving school many of the gifts I received on birthdays and for Christmas were actually books and no I was never disappointed. I had quite the library in my bedroom. My parents would often buy me books about how things worked, animals of the world, history, science, and so much more including of course novels. It literally fed my mind - I still have a hungry mind.

But even with all the information pouring into my neurons I still didn't know what I wanted to be in the future and let's be honest, who really does? You're only 15 after all.

This led to me jumping feet first into many ventures, jobs, ideas, and journeys with no to little experience and having to learn on the go. I would take risks. I would fail. I would succeed. I would meet crushing defeat head on and I would greet resounding success with open arms. The failures didn't worry me or deter me, they were all learning experiences - with great failure comes great lessons.

I knew one thing and that was there is a big world out there and that fact meant lots of opportunities awaited me. My father worked for an airline and that allowed our family to travel regularly to far off destinations every year. By the age of 15 I had been to - the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Lichtenstein, Bahrain, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji, and maybe some others I have forgotten.

A sense of adventure and wanderlust had been permanently embedded within me. I had itchy feet and an impatient mind.

At 15 I only knew I wanted adventures, not Indiana Jones style but ones where I never really knew what was around the corner. Settling down into a safe a secure job, getting all comfortable, and knowing what tomorrow would bring simply didn't appeal to me.

At 15 I had a hunger for knowledge, experiences, and seeing what I could do. I had a lot I wanted to do I just didn't know what it was.

My career path since leaving school has been about as diverse as they come with a job history that includes - working for a bank, working as a courier, working in sales for a major American airfreight company and then a major Australian land freight company, being a caterer, working in kitchens, working in catering for a major airline, working in promotions, being a bass player, being a roadie, operating lighting for concerts and events, being an audio engineer, being an extra in films, trying my hand at modeling, being a fashion designer for my own label, installing nightclub audio and sound equipment, managing bands, working in sales for concert lighting and sound equipment, composing music for advertising, copywriting, art directing, creative direction, directing videos, and...I think that's it...so far.

All of those jobs taught me many valuable things. I don't regret a single one of them.

When I was 15 I didn't know what I wanted to be but I did know I had started something - it was an adventure called life. I still haven't finished it, thankfully.

The adventure continues.

Oh, and Happy Birthday LinkedIn.

Rodd

I'm a Creative Director / Writer / Strategist / Thinker and a bit more. I work with clients/brands directly and with agencies and production companies. I also teach creative thinking and idea generation to groups and individuals. You can read more of my LinkedIn musings here. You can also find me on Twitter,  Instagram and on Facebook. Or drop me an email – [email protected]

Words (aside from credited quotes) Copyright Rodd Chant 2018

#WhenIWas15

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