second year of university.
i was sitting in my dorm room, scrolling through behance for the third time that day, feeling like complete shit.
every portfolio i looked at was better than mine. cleaner layouts. more creative concepts. that effortless confidence that screams “i went to design school and i know what i’m doing.”
meanwhile, i was the guy doing free posters for campus events, hoping someone would eventually think my work was worth paying for.
the thing is, i thought the problem was that i wasn’t good enough yet.
if i could just design cleaner.
if i could just be more creative.
if i could just figure out what the “real designers” knew that i didn’t.
but then this prefect i didn’t even like in high school changed everything.
i was competing in the wrong game
his name was Nana. back in boarding school, he was everything i wasn’t. loud, confident, always in charge of something. honestly, i found him a bit much.
so when he messaged me about designing a logo for his family member’s new store, i almost said no. imposter syndrome was screaming:
“you’re not qualified for this. you didn’t go to design school. what if you mess it up?”
but i needed the money baaaad.
here’s what i discovered during that project: nana didn’t care about my technical skills. he didn’t ask to see my behance portfolio or compare my work to other designers
he cared about one thing, would this logo help his aunt’s business?
while i was obsessing over whether my kerning was perfect, he was asking strategic questions: “will customers understand what we do? does this feel trustworthy? how does this position us differently from competitors?”
that’s when it hit me.
i wasn’t behind because i lacked technical skills. i was different because i actually gave a shit about strategy.
why “better” became my prison
for years, i was trapped in the “better” race. trying to out-design everyone else. spending hours perfecting shadows and color gradients that nobody would ever notice.
the crazy thing? the more i tried to be better, the more invisible i became.
when everyone’s trying to make the most beautiful design, all the beautiful designs start looking the same. when everyone’s portfolio has the same dribbble-worthy style, nobody’s portfolio stands out.
i was making beautiful work that looked like everyone else’s beautiful work.
meanwhile, clients were hiring other designers not because their work was technically superior, but because something about their approach felt different. felt right for their specific problem.
that project with Nana taught me something nobody talks about in design school: clients don’t hire the best designer. they hire the designer who makes them feel most confident about their decision.
and confidence comes from clarity. from someone who understands their business, not just photoshop.
the introvert advantage discovery
here’s what i wish someone had told me earlier: being quiet isn’t a bug. it’s a feature.
while extroverted designers were networking and self-promoting, i was listening. really listening to what clients were saying. asking follow-up questions. digging into the real problems they were trying to solve.
turns out, most business owners are overwhelmed by loud, flashy agencies who talk more than they listen.
they want someone calm. someone who makes the process feel manageable instead of chaotic.
my peaceful energy wasn’t holding me back it was exactly what the right clients were looking for.
but i almost missed this because i was too busy trying to be someone else.
seven years later, that collaboration with Nana became Brainstorm with over 100 clients worldwide. not because we’re the best agency, but because we’re unmistakably us.
the real breakthrough came when i started “leading with my face” becoming personally visible online despite every introvert instinct telling me to hide.
i was terrified.
“but i’m not the type of person who does this. i’m not exciting enough. i don’t have hot takes or viral-worthy content.”
then i realized that’s exactly why it would work.
in an industry full of loud voices and hot takes, calm consistency became magnetic. my 40,000 followers didn’t come from viral moments.
they came from showing up authentically, day after day, sharing strategic insights without the performance.
people don’t follow me because i’m better than other designers. they stay because i’m unmistakably me.
calm energy attracts calm people. and calm people make the best clients.
permission to stop the better race
honestly, i still catch myself comparing sometimes. scrolling through portfolios, wondering if i should be doing more experimental work or following the latest design trends.
but now i know the truth: when you try to be everything for everyone, you become nothing for anyone. your calm approach isn’t a limitation it’s a filter. it repels the wrong clients and attracts the right ones.
your strategic thinking isn’t boring it’s rare. most people are so focused on looking creative, they forget to be useful. your authenticity isn’t unprofessional it’s unforgettable.
so here’s my question for you: what if the thing you’re trying to fix about yourself is actually your fingerprint?
what would happen if you stopped editing your own weirdness and started leveraging it instead?
because the world doesn’t need another “better” version of what already exists.
it needs the first version of you.
I’ll be writing more guides on this for my paid subscription so consider upgrading if you can.
otherwise, have a great weekend!
- Mike