This year was my first attending South by Southwest Interactive. A lot of people have asked me if it was a fun experience. I hesitate, not because it isn’t fun, but because it’s something more. My team worked really hard to produce content around the conference and interview panelists. We attended a few parties, and yeah, they were fun, but for me the SXSW experience wasn’t fun, it was rewarding. I enjoyed it in the same way you enjoy a great workout – you’re sweating during it and hate it a little and think you might die, but you don’t, and afterward you’re so glad you did it.

I think it was especially rewarding for me because I’m at this crossroads of my life – nearing the end of my formal graduate education and considering where I’m going from here.

I was inspired by the startup panels I attended, and took away some great inspiration for my future career.

• If you have an idea, surround yourself with talented people and pursue it and you can make it happen.
• Passion is important – if you’re making a product just to make a buck (or a million), then garnering support around your idea is much more difficult.
• It’s all about the customer. You have to care about people too, not just your business, because you live and die by your customers’ opinions of you.
• Strategy matters. Designing a product, service or business with intentionality is key to its success and scalability.

I still have a lot of mental sorting to do as I apply these lessons and more to my career interests and goals. I can say that the most inspiring piece of advice came from a panel on minimalism. Courtney Carver shared this simple statement: “Be nice. Support good people.”

I was left with the desire to focus more on the quality of my work and my life than the need to achieve career goals that our culture stereotypes as success. I’m eager to explore, cultivate my passion, and create work that brings value to my life and those around me!