Wouldn’t this look cool in the neighbourhood? Can’t help myself from mocking my art up on a billboard! ❤️

I’m reminded by something I’ve heard on @garyvee‘s video before, and he said: “There are two ways to build the biggest building in town: 1. Build the biggest building in town 2. Tear down all the other buildings around you.”

Many years later, this sentiment still stuck with me.

The world is massive, abundant and giving and whilst it’s a natural human instinct to be competitive for survival, I firmly believe that we truly do grow more when we lift each other, instead of tearing each other down.

I’ve had great conversations in the DMs with some of you guys sharing my experience and knowledge in the industry. And sometimes people would say things along the lines of “thank you for sharing, not everyone’s willing to.” Or course students would say “I can’t believe you teach literally everything and give all your secrets away”.

But truly, I’m just passing it on.

As someone who pivoted from accounting w no former art education, I’m thankful for amazing artists, designers and thought leaders in the industry who lead by example, sharing what they know and had learnt, and not gatekeeping. (S/O to @thefuturishere where I learnt the business of design from, @pandrdesignco & @homsweethom on murals and creative marketing, @jessicahische on pricing, and honestly the list goes on and on.)

In 2016, I remembered interviewing a business owner for a project and he mentioned that he stopped teaching workshops as he felt that they’re learning everything from him and it’s threatening his livelihood.

I remembered empathising with him because it’s a real feeling that I too had felt when I first started teaching calligraphy. Over the years, as I practised and discovered more on mastering the craft, slowly I began to lose this selfish thought and moved from “I’m sharing everything I know but why don’t I feel happy about it?” to “I genuinely want to share and teach everything I know!”.

It feels good to give, and honestly, life is so short. But also, this is not to say you shouldn’t keep to personal healthy boundaries. Share what you’re comfortable w sharing! Live abundantly ❤️