With a Grain of Salt

Depression is something every person on the planet deals with at some point in their lives, and for us not to talk about it or be open about it, is dumb. It benefits no one by staying silent. We need to end this stigma of shame culture surrounding mental health and depression.

There have been so many times in my personal and professional careers that I have been so fearful of failure that I have made myself sick. In our society, we are, taught to be fearful of failure from a very young age. We are conditioned to think that if we fail our school homework or projects or sports that OUR LIFE WILL COME TO AN END. And we continue to be conditioned in this mindset long into our adulthood and then into seniority. It comes down to “if you don’t do this thing or if you fail at this certain thing then YOU WILL BE HOMELESS AND DIE and so we drive ourselves insane working for this fear of failure machine. I, like you, was trapped in this cycle for the longest time until I got so sick both physically and mentally that I had to change something.

I think where I began to change was when I left my job as an executive chef because I was so exhausted from being made to feel like I didn’t do this thing or that I was going to fail at life become nothing. I got to the point where I just stopped caring because I was so exhausted from being made to feel this way. It wasn’t until I started my own business that I learned through so much trial and error that failure. In itself IS NOT THE END. In a lot of cases, it is the beginning. Failure is a vital part of progression and eventually success. I was so sick of things happening to me that I made a conscious choice to make things happen for me. Fear is a funny thing. If you let it, it will keep you prisoner forever, and when we fear something we become irrational and volatile. But fear is not something that needs to control you, instead, learn to master your fear and you will truly find peace.

Of course, you will fail, make mistakes and give in to fear but that’s all just part of the process. There is a difference between being a slave to your fear and occasionally being afraid of things. Failure is just as useful as a success because it teaches you something. We can always learn something or take something away from our failures just as much as from our successes.

As a headshot photographer, it is partly my job to help people face their fears and insecurities of body image. I often have to work with people to understand that true beauty comes from the inside and no matter what failures they’ve experienced or mistakes they’ve made or no matter what negative thing anyone has ever said to them ultimately doesn’t matter unless they allow it to matter. People who are afraid or miserable will try to make you miserable and afraid so that they don’t feel so crappy and if you do anything good or if anything good happens to you they will try to drag you down to their level. But you cannot let others control the outcome of your life. Ultimately you are the master of your destiny, any progression, successes or failures happen because of the choices you make.

I clung to the motto of “Do not tell me what I can or cannot do” for most of my life. Meaning do not try to control the outcome of my life because I will be the master of my destiny.

You are valuable, You can do it, You will fail, You will make mistakes and You will learn from it, You are talented and You will succeed.

Do not let failure be the end.

"One struggle I’ve found is the definition of “freelancer” seems to be a very fluid thing for most clients and companies.

A lot of people think that hiring freelancers is like hiring a “budget designer” or is somehow getting them a “discount” on design services. I just want to dispel this myth right now. Yes some “freelancers” and “freelance services” are budget or cheap. Fiverr and UpWork to say the least have NOT helped this image.

But true freelancers, true entrepreneurs, the one’s like myself who do this as a full-time business are not cheap because we have built not only value in our skills but also value in ourselves as designers and creatives. We have built value in far more than our skill set but in how we relate to and work with clients, how to stay organized and work to maximize efficiency in our trade. And like many freelancers I don’t bill people by the hour but I choose value based pricing. Because hourly pricing actually hurts both the client and the freelancer and damages future relationships between the two."

“Telling someone that they matter is so much more weighty then you're good at something. Because the two things that I've been learning is that people need to thrive as human beings and they need to know that they matter and they need to know they belong. When my–my dad didn't show up to my wedding, yeah, my day is about me and my wife, but... inside I was–I, I felt like I don't belong to nobody”

"Since I was a kid I’ve been trying to create a narrative or a story to market myself to others as to why I’m different or why I don’t fit into the “norms” of society or culture hoping that I’d either be left alone or accepted for who I was. Never did I stop to think that maybe I’m not the one who’s strange but instead that I have a biologically driving force to be my truest self. Unfortunately,  instead I was taught that I needed to create a story to explain how I’m not different.".............

"You are valuable, You can do it, You will fail, You will make mistakes and You will learn from it, You are talented and You will succeed.

Do not let failure be the end."

I thought the best way to start off this podcast was to tell you who I am and where I come from and the reasons why I want to do this podcast. 

My goal is to bring some optimism into an otherwise gloomy world and help you discover ways to overcome challenges in your own life.

So if these are things that interest you then listen to my show and learn how to better take life, With a Grain of Salt.

Hi I’m Justin Von Braun and this the With a Grain of Salt podcast.

A podcast about our struggles as humans in an ever changing and challenging world and how we overcome those changes.

As an dyslexic and autistic graphic designer in New York City, I talk about how challenging it can be to communicate with others about ideas and concepts and how I have overcome those challenges.

There are a lot of misconceptions about autism and it’s attributes and I’d like to break down some of those misconceptions.

I will also like to touch on things that help me cope with the everyday challenges of working as a freelancer, being married and still finding time to pursue the things I love and ways I have discovered that help keep me on track.

My goal is to bring some optimism into an otherwise gloomy world and help you discover ways to overcome challenges in your own life.

So if these are things that interest you then listen to my show and learn how to better take life, With a Grain of Salt.