Since the early days of the Internet, I have had at least one website. They have been filled with useful information and were very functional, but they have never really looked beautiful. When people ask me if I can help them with a website, I say yes, and that it will be functional, but it won’t be pretty.
Well, today that has changed! My personal website, https://seanchiggins.com, has been upgraded and now it even looks beyond pretty. It is amazing! I had very little to do with the design and execution of the changes to the site. All the changes were the brain storm of Nathan Strickland.
Nathan connected with me via LinkedIn and instead of just asking to redesign my website, he sent me some of his ideas for a website redesign in his first message. I liked the ideas and put him off, but he kept bugging me. One evening, I got an email from Nathan and he said, how about a video for your website? I was blown away! That is the video you can see on my website.
And yet, I still delayed Nathan. Why? Because he was designing a website that would shine the light on me and make me stand out. I mean, you tell me. I cannot go around and hide what I do with a beautiful website like I have now. Can I? I am still a bit uncomfortable with the website, because it is greater than I see myself. Yes, the information on the website is true, but when I talk to people, I downplay what I do, think of it as secondary and in turn, think less of myself.
Yes, even with all the great things that I do, I do not take the time to appreciate what I have done, to appreciate how far I have come, and what I am capable of doing. I still fight with myself on accepting what I am capable of doing, even with all the evidence to the contrary.
So, what made me change my mind on letting Nathan design my website? Well, he kept nudging me, and when I really took the time to think about what Nathan was proposing and how it would fit into what I am doing, I got a resounding “Yes! Do it!” Even with all the excuses that I could come up with not to do it, my “Yes!” kept getting stronger to the point I just had to do it.
I am grateful today for people in my life, like Nathan, who give me a nudge, and shine the light on who I really am. If you are looking for some help with your website, please consider Nathan. You can reach him at nathan@nathanstrickland.com. I cannot recommend him enough! Thank you, Nathan!
As always, feel free to leave me a comment below. Let me know what you think of the new website, or let me know if you need some help shining the light on you!
Thank you Sean for the kind words! And it was truly an honor to work with you. I’ve been a go-getter all my life. I am 27.
In doing this, I’ve definitely learned there is a fine-line between persistence and being a straight pest.
Unfortunately, sometimes I had to learn the hard way. But nonetheless, I’ve always had big dreams and good intentions.
When I was a child, I wanted to become President of the United States. I’ll never forget calling Congressman Bob Barr’s office 4 times a week trying to get him to come and speak to my Middle School as I was the President of our local Junior Chamber of Commerce. Well, he finally came out and it was the only time had ever spoken to a Middle School before but I distinctly remember that. I remember writing the President George W. Bush over and over and telling him I wanted to shadow him. Haha. I was such a pest. But he finally wrote me back a handwritten letter that said Nathan stay in school and make the right choices and do the right things.
I’ll never forget here recently wanting to market someone HUGE. So you know what I did? I looked up Forbes top 25 list and I found Mr. Ted Turner’s name on the top-25.
Long story short, I drafted up a design similar to what I did for Sean and sent it to their office and was immediately contacted and I’ll never forget going to their office to the top floor and seeing the freedom peace prize there and sitting in his boardroom and offering suggestions for the website and ultimately helping with their marketing.
You see — point is, there IS a fine line between being persistent and being an optimist and trying your best verses being a straight pest. Sometimes I have learned the hard way. But the truth is — if you really truly put your mind to something and try your best and do the right things…. You can never fail!
I thank Sean for him allowing me the opportunity to create this site. I’m truly humbled that the CTO of Herjavec Group gave me a shot. And hopefully I did him a good job!
Sean I think you are truly an amazing person and I hope that your territory will be expanded from your knowledge, persistence, and dedication.
My friends, never give up or loose hope! Nothing is too big. Life is a journey and we all have room to grow.
Most of all — always believe in yourself. And if you get shot down, dust yourself off and keep going! Eventually, you’ll get to where you want to go. and above all: always walk in humility. Pride comes before a fall. When you are humble and real, people take note of it!