Embracing my multifaceted life

The unexpected road can lead to something beautiful

Picture from Creative Explorer

When I was brainstorming what to write about next, the idea of being myself popped up. Who am I? Well, I’m Max: the one hand wonder man, husband, brother, dog dad, friend, community builder, and amateur DJ (among other things!)

I think this is what makes us all unique and special. We’re more than just what we do for work. We’re complex, messy, fluid, etc. We also tend to put up a facade and show up how we think others will perceive us best. But I struggle a lot with this. I think it’s one of the main reasons why I have changed careers and living locations so much in my life. I don’t want to be boxed into one thing; I like switching it up.

Growing up, I watched my Mum change careers countless times, which inspired how I approach my work and life. I tend to follow my interests and see where they take me. Granted, I probably would be in a much higher position if I stayed in one lane, but I don’t regret the trajectory I have set out for myself.

For this post, I’m diving into my own story of owning my uniqueness, switching careers, and falling in love with community.

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Music Max

Music has always been a big passion of mine. I remember when I was young, I was fascinated with the drums and wanted to learn how to play. The band teacher at the time wasn’t so excited and discouraged me from playing because of my hand, and while that delayed me getting to play the drums, it didn’t stop me.

When I moved to California, one of the first things I did was learn how to play the drums. I was still very interested in this instrument and wasn’t going to let one person deter me. Fortunately, I found an amazing instructor who had a similar “figure it out” mentality as me and showed me how I could play.

Through some trial and error, we found a method that worked, and I was hooked! I learned how to read music, signed up for band again (new instructor), and became a drummer.

My love for drums led me to discover music as a career and find a role in the music industry. I started off interning at some labels and got hired out of college at a music marketing agency, and then another label. This was my set career path — or at least I thought so.

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Business Owner

A big life change happened when I was 25. On a relaxing weekend, I got a call from my sister saying our mum had checked herself into the hospital a couple of days ago and it wasn’t looking good. I had to hop on the next flight out to prepare to say my goodbyes.

My first photo with my Mum in California

In the blink of an eye, my whole life shifted, and I honestly had a hard time coming back to work after this. I didn’t see the point. I didn’t feel excited about working in music. I felt stuck and in a rut.

So I quit. I had no job lined up, no savings, nothing really, but I knew I couldn’t just keep doing what I was doing. Life is way too short to be miserable, and I’d rather be stressed for a bit than hate my daily life.

Through this process, I found a love for designing websites and using my advertising skills to teach small businesses how to run their accounts. It took a minute for me to find my bearings, but once I did, I kept pushing. Making my first dollar on my own was such an exciting moment for me.

I continued to grow and expand my business in a way that suited me. I didn’t want to become an agency or hire people, I just wanted to make enough money to cover my expenses, enjoy life, and have fun during the process.

I did this for a few years, went back to an agency for steady work, and then quickly was reminded that the environment wasn’t for me. So again, I quit and went back to freelancing. Then, the world shut down.

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Pandemy Pete

I still remember how wild the beginning days of the pandemic were. Everyone was scared. Everyone stayed inside. People had to figure out how to work from home. But strangely enough, being a freelancer at this time was a blessing.

I had an influx of clients overnight. Everyone needed a website or a revamp of their current build. In the 5+ years of freelancing, this was my biggest year yet. However, it didn’t last long.

Saying yes to every project comes at a price, and that price is burnout. While I was grateful for clients, I was so exhausted from working from early morning to bedtime. I started to hate what I was doing and knew I needed a change.

Me during one of my anxiety/panic stages in 2020

I saw many new freelancers starting their businesses, so I decided to start a coaching business and offer my advice on how to launch, sign clients, etc. This ended up being a lot of fun, but I felt like something was missing. I could only work with a limited number of people a day and felt like I wasn’t reaching what I wanted to do.

Then, through doomscrolling, I came across a freelance membership community and figured I’d try it out. I missed networking with other freelancers in real life. Little did I know that the community would change my life.

I met so many other freelancers, got involved with hosting events and building resources, and eventually got asked by the founder if I wanted to be their part-time community manager.

To be honest, I had no idea what this role even was, but being at this career crossroads, I said yes! This led me to discover communities for community builders like Community Club and meet other CMs.

And the rest is history.

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Community Cheerleader

As cheesy as it sounds, this was the feeling that I was missing all along in my career journey so far. I never truly felt like this was what I was supposed to be doing until I fell into community management.

Rebecca, DeMario, and myself hanging out at CMX 23

I spent hours each day and week just reaching out to other community managers, asking to get on a call, learn more about their stories, and tell them about me. I also offered help with anything they needed support with. My goal was to be helpful, supportive, and maintain a learner's mindset.

I started working part-time as a community manager, then eventually found a full-time role, got laid off, and found my current place at Square. I’ve met some of the coolest and kindest folks in my life through this industry, and I still feel like this is just the beginning.

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What’s Next?

I’m beyond grateful for finding my footing in community and feel like this could be my place. But as my story has unfolded thus far, who really knows? Only time will tell.

If you gather one thing from this post, I hope it’s a reminder that you’re allowed to be more than one thing. Give yourself some space to explore and find what drives you. Just because you like something now doesn’t mean you have to do it forever. You’re in charge of your career and life.

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Thank you for reading,
Max

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