Do you remember the last time you were at rock bottom?

For me, it was January 2023.

Three months into this journey, I was just fired from my first job out of college.

A job that I thought was going to change my life.

As a kid, we all had big aspirations.

I dreamt of being an NBA player from the day I picked up a basketball at age 10.

But somewhere along the way, our dreams die.

And we end up spending a lot of our lives not knowing what we really want to do.

And here I am, half a year out of college, feeling the same pain I did when I got cut from my high school basketball team my freshman year.

Picture yourself chasing your dreams for a second.

You probably do have a passion or idea that you want to explore further.

You've done your research, have some sort of plan.

All that's left is just doing it.

So what's holding you back?

It's quite scary taking the first steps into the unknown.

And even if you've started, the reality is, you'll have to execute better than 99% of the people around you to reach your dreams.

However, in a world where we're crowned for success, but clowned for failure, we often let our fears get in the way of figuring out what we're really capable of.

Getting fired ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me.

Because without these 20 days of rock bottom, I wouldn't have experienced the best year of my life.

So how did I turn my life around after being fired?

Landed a project with the NFL, working on a music video with Metro Boomin, and who even am I?

Let me introduce myself.

Hi, I'm Justin, or better known as Shinny Visuals.

I'm a 23-year-old filmmaker from Portland, currently living in Chicago.

After graduating from college two years ago, I wanted to answer one question that's been in my head for the last few years.

Could I make a living through my creative passions?

Over the last 500 days, life has taken me on quite the ride.

While I went viral, traveled the world, met tons of new people, and I even made the news, I also went through self-doubt, heartbreak, and probably the toughest year of my life.

Through the highs and lows, I wanted to make an honest video about the reality of chasing your dreams in your early 20s, and the 10 lessons I learned in between.

The journey all started when a company asked me to be their full-time creative director.

But how does a 22-year-old business school graduate even get this kind of opportunity?

Alright, hey guys, Crazy Game here.

Welcome back to another episode of Minecraft.

From a young age, I realized that creativity is in everyone's blood.

While my NBA dreams died at age 14, I got inspired by my favorite YouTubers to make Minecraft videos, mess around with 3D animation, and learn how to video edit, with the new aspirations of becoming a famous YouTuber.

As you can see, that didn't work out.

Eventually, I went to business school, where I felt like a bit of an outcast.

I never got the best grades, and while all my peers were extremely confident and extroverted, I realized that I wasn't the best at expressing myself through small talk and quick-witted conversations, which felt essential to making connections in business school.

However, everything changed for me my sophomore year, when the world shut down from COVID.

During the long periods of isolation, I found solace in looking through memories from college, which gave me the urge to edit videos again as a way to express my nostalgia.

Being away from friends made me realize how valuable capturing each memory was.

So when the summer came around, I decided to buy a camera with the help of my parents to start documenting life through my eyes.

And it truly felt like love at first sight.

In the blink of an eye, my camera would be with me everywhere, capturing precious memories for me and my friends as we explored the great outdoors.

During the night, my camera would be by my side while I stayed up editing photos, reliving every moment from my latest adventure.

This new creative world made me feel so alive.

Not only was it the outlet to express myself that I couldn't find in college, but for the first time in my life, it felt like the walls of my world were being torn down.

So when I went back to campus that fall, I made it a goal to make the most out of my newfound passion by following one simple rule.

Let your curiosity lead you places.

I wanted to share my creativity with friends, so we documented life and went on spontaneous photo shoots all throughout campus.

I wanted to be involved with my favorite sport again, so I asked the basketball team to work for free.

I wanted to start freelancing, so I networked around campus to work with businesses and organizations.

And over time, my once mundane college life started feeling full of joy and excitement.

I bonded with friends, met new people, lived new experiences, ran my own business, and reconnected with the game I love.

But more importantly, it was the first time in life I felt a strong sense of purpose.

Through the thousands of pictures and videos I took, I saw the smile I put on people's faces, and I felt like I made a change in the world for the first time.

But once I graduated, life got real.

As much as I wanted to dive headfirst into the creative sphere, I couldn't help but feel like I reached the end of my runway.

And for now, the corporate job I had lined up would be the smarter and more comfortable path to a stable life.

Do you ever catch yourself running for the train?

From a young age, I've always been fascinated by trains.

Although we all have different aspirations growing up, most people end up waiting at the same stations, boarding the same trains, to end up in the same predetermined destinations as others.

But once in a while, a different train will show up unexpectedly.

It's not on the map as you know, and the tracks have never been tested.

What would you do if I promised to take you to your dream destination?

Just a few weeks before my corporate start date, one of my old sportswear clients from college offered me a job to be their full-time creative director.

This was my unexpected train.

I knew the tracks wouldn't be as safe, and there was no sign of the route on my map.

But as I've done all throughout my creative journey so far, I've trusted my curiosity, which told me to hop on this train.

There was one catch.

I kept a return ticket to corporate life for next October, giving myself exactly one year to prove I was here to stay in the creative world.

So this is how I started the 500-day journey to chase my creative dreams.

I've always wanted to live in a big city.

Growing up, I was spoiled by the nature of the Pacific Northwest, but whenever I visited Chicago or New York City, I was always enamored by the energy radiated by the bustling streets and concrete abyss.

Something about the possibilities felt endless here.

It was the perfect place to figure out the question I've been trying to answer my whole life.

Who even am I among this madness?

Life after college comes at you fast.

One moment, we're surrounded by friends and thousands of people our age on a lively college campus.

The next moment, we're all alone in a new city trying to figure out our new purpose in life.

How does one feel alone in a city with millions of people?

Although I was excited to start my new life, being on a different path than everyone was a lot lonelier than I thought.

Not only did most of my friends not end up in Chicago, but it was hard to explain how I was struggling doing something I loved when everyone else was working a corporate job.

Two months in, it was clear that my role at the company was diminishing, and the creative freedom I was promised was taken away by office politics.

And for the first time, I felt myself falling out of love with the creative game.

Although I was doing my passion for a living, I quickly felt lost and alone, just going through the motions every day.

And soon enough, my struggles became apparent at work.

Hey, Justin, hope you're doing well, man.

Unfortunately, I don't think this is working out, and the company is moving towards a different direction.

We value citizenship here at and we no longer feel like you're a good fit here.

So as of today, you're terminated from the company.

You can pick up your stuff from the office next week, and I'll give you two weeks to get it.

Although I felt relieved from being set free, I thought I failed, and perhaps I wasn't ready to take on such heavy responsibilities.

But worse, for the first time since I picked up a camera, there was no creative spark left in me.

See, when you spend eight hours a day working on ideas that you have no control over, you're bound to be burnt out.

So here I was, nine months until my return trip, no job, no game plan, just a few months of savings, and the looming possibility that this was the end of my creative career.

What scares you more?

Failing or knowing the outcome, realizing you didn't try hard enough?

I think back a lot about why I didn't make it in basketball.

While I loved the game as much as anyone, I had this terrible fear of losing, and I would always mentally crumble whenever I played against people better than me.

Instead of taking my losses as a learning experience, I thought about it as failure, and I was afraid the players around me would judge me for failing over and over again.

But the more I lived, the more I realized, not only does everyone lose at some point, but most people don't care about your failures as much as you do.

And that's when I realized, the ones that truly fail are the ones that never allow themselves to.

Sure, 14-year-old me could have used some more hours in the weight room, or a better handle, but what he really needed was a change of perspective.

Just before I was about to accept that this is the end, I took one last deep dive through my hard drive, filled with all my work, which helped me put things into perspective.

Not only have I improved so much in such a short time, but my life has also become so much richer in experience over the last two and a half years.

However, over the last few months, I became so tunnel-visioned on turning my passion into a full-time job, that I lost sight on the bigger dreams I had for myself.

Freelancing full-time, shooting music videos for big artists, working with my favorite brands, and one day stepping onto the hardwood of an NBA floor.

That last train was never going to take me there, and being fired does not make me a failure.

The only way I'd fail was if I stopped chasing my dreams right now, knowing I didn't try hard enough like I did with basketball.

I thought back on the pain of never making the high school team, and I owed it to my old self to not make the same mistake.

And once I realized I had nothing more to lose, the picture became so clear.

It was the perfect time to try freelancing full-time, work on my creative style, and see more of the world like I always envisioned.

With nine months left on the timer, I was determined to figure it out.

And if I do take the return ticket, I was going to leave with no regrets.

Being in Chicago had its advantages.

I knew it would be easier for me to stand out here compared to LA or New York.

So immediately, I started making my way around the city, reaching out to friends, and taking whatever I could to get my feet off the ground.

Events, clubs, shows, parties, behind-the-scenes for sets, socializing with friends, Some were paid, some weren't, but no matter the opportunity, I made it a goal to push my creative boundaries further than everyone else around me.

Trial and error became the norm.

And while I actively took inspiration from my favorite filmmakers, I always added my own original flair on top, embracing this idea of steal like an artist, a concept which argues that nothing we create is truly original.

They're all iterations of something we've seen in the past.

But the best artists build upon what's created before.

Because what even is our own unique style?

I think it's an interpretation of our own experiences, emotional connections, and all the art forms we consume.

And that's what makes each and every one of us different.

As I started posting passion projects and networking around the city, people started noticing.

In February, I directed my first music video.

In March, I worked on my first film sets.

In April, I shot for my first big brand.

And in May, I even got flown out to California to work with an artist.

Every month was something new and the progress I made started becoming apparent.

But there was still one problem.

I was still burning through my savings and in the four months until my return ticket expires, I had to figure out things financially if I wanted to stay on this track.

As the economy stagnated, I was told that my return ticket to corporate was delayed for another four months.

Although I was excited for the extra time to figure things out, the reality is, as a freelancer, the fear of running out of work never goes away.

And I was still struggling to make ends meet. I wasn't sure if I could make it through the extra four months.

I took this feeling of uncertainty and channeled it into my creative style, which became a reflection of how I felt at this point in my life.

I'm at the center of this chaos, constant but always changing, trying to find myself amidst this evolving world.

Some might call it luck, but I think it's fate.

Because without this extra bit of fear from the delay, I don't know if I would have experienced the biggest moment of my career.

In a month, the video hit 5 million views.

And for a brief 17 seconds, it felt like the whole world had their eyes on something I made.

Inspired by my fast and chaotic life in the city, elements of Chicago would change everything for me.

My once deserted inbox was filled to the brim.

And every new opportunity was the reassurance I needed to know that I'm starting to be on the right path.

But the best part was getting noticed by some of the directors and creators I've been heavily inspired by along this journey.

Without them, I probably wouldn't be where I'm at today.

In the following months, I continued to experiment creatively while wasting no time putting my business school knowledge to use.

I learned how to do my own contracting, invoicing, And my new LSC became the heartbeat of my opportunities from all over the world.

From making elements of London for the NFL, editing parts of the music video for Calling by Metro Booming, to covering events like Lollapalooza, Formula One, and Electric Zoo.

Each project was not only a creative challenge, but a glimpse of the endless experiences I've unlocked through following this crazy dream of mine.

But just as everything was coming together, I once again ran into some growing pains.

Because Elements of Chicago would be the last video I made without any expectations.