Asking for Help has Always Been Difficult

At some point in my childhood there was a moment where a switch flipped in my mind. Asking for help from friends and family seemed wrong and I struggled to do all that I could on my own. As I’ve become an adult, that mindset has only strengthened. I realize that we all have to reach out for help from time to time but the simple thought of it leaves me feeling embarrassed.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have an issue with asking immediate family for help. We do favors for one another all the time. The problem comes when I need to extend beyond my immediate family. I suppose it stems from the fact that I’m terrible at staying in touch and I’m terrified of being seen as the guy that only calls me when he needs something.

I’ve been dealing with a problem lately that serves as a great example of why this is a problem. If you’ve been following along recently you probably know that I’m gearing up to launch a podcast in the very near future.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been hard at work getting ready for the release of my first episode. I researched hosting options, created a Facebook Page, Twitter Account, Instagram Account, Ordered Equipment, and have scripted and began recording my premier episode.

Wanting to present myself as professional as possible early on, I’ve also outsourced a couple of items. I purchased a gig on Fiverr to have a professional voice actor record a show intro and closer. In addition, I also purchased an upgraded gig on Fiverr for a logo design.

The show intro and closer came out great. The seller (Awwyeah) was a pleasure to work with. The logo, on the other hand, was a disaster.

In my logo instructions I asked for something that was inspired by a photo of my daughter and I that I took after a workout together. The quality of the photo was low but I felt the photo was powerful enough to convey a message. I was looking for some stylized text with a father and daughter flexing behind it. Muted facial features were supposed to create a feel that it could be any father and their child working out.

I was very excited to see the logo proofs but when they came in, I was let down. They were all too cute and none of the images accompanying the text came close to representing the photo I had included. I had a father and daughter reading a book, a father and daughter hugging, a father and daughter hugging again (this time in the shape of a heart), and a daughter sitting on her father’s shoulders.

Since I purchased an upgrade to include unlimited revisions (and professional quality design), I requested a change. Perhaps something more active? What I received was a father and daughter fishing. There were plenty of gigs on Fiverr for people offering to trace over and vectorize a photo, why couldn’t we simply do something like that with the photo I sent in to begin with?

I requested another change, this time asking to re-create the photo as I had asked in the beginning. Shortly after making that request, I began second guessing myself. Maybe I was asking too much of my $50 gig upgrade? I messaged the seller back with a couple of sample ideas (silhouettes of men running) and asked for something along those lines instead.

When I received a sample of that request, I got down right angry. It looked as if the designer found a random photo online and traced over it in photoshop. The lines were jagged and it was very poorly done. Once traced, the shape was filled in with black to create the silhouette. A second figure was created, made to look very overweight, and filled in with grey. The end result was horrible. If I wanted a logo this poorly done, I could have simply done it myself.

At this point I was at the end of my rope. I requested the seller cancel the order and issue a refund. I then took to Facebook and put out a plea for help. To my amazement, several people reached out to lend a hand. One of those people was my cousin Mike, who I haven’t talked to in quite a while.

Mike recently graduated college with a Bachelors Degree in Media Arts and Animation. While logo design isn’t Mike’s forte, I knew that his skills would far outweigh those of my Fiverr designer. I jumped at the opportunity to work with my cousin.

We exchanged a couple of emails and Mike sent me a few logo ideas. The very first one I opened was it. The figure in the logo was striking and was a perfect example of what I was trying to achieve in my fitness journey.

I can’t thank Mike enough for helping me out of this jam. He never asked for anything in return and provided a level of professionalism that was like a breath of fresh air. Please, do me a favor and check out Mike’s Website and Facebook Page. If you happen to know anyone looking for 3D Animation and Design, please share his work – he has an impressive demo reel.