1. If you were to describe your job to a 5 year old, how would you describe it?

My job is to make up stories and play pretend with grown ups.

Also, if I was describing my job to a 5 year old, I would probably do some hard name dropping and brag that I have worked with some big celebs like Elmo, Barbie, and the Ninja Turtles.

2. What advice would you give your younger self starting out in advertising, what would you say to him?

It never gets easier, and that’s the point.

The journey is hard and that’s the rewarding part. If it ever gets easy that means you’re not learning or pushing yourself to your full potential. The things that are currently hard for you will soon be the easiest part of your day and you’ll find new things that are even harder than the old things.

When I was younger in my career I was always expecting one project, one agency, or one client to unlock a world of opportunities and make life easy for me but it never did. It only unlocked the NEXT opportunity and the NEXT challenge.

And what more could you hope for, than another opportunity to do what you love?

3. If you could thank someone that helped get you to where you are today, who would you thank, and what would you say?

There are far too many people (and experiences) to thank but I’ll do my best.

First, I’d like to thank every single recruiter, headhunter, or hiring manager who never answered my emails (there are far too many of you to thank individually).

Seriously, thank you.

Thank you for sending me on the path I’m on, and for teaching me that it is far more valuable to make your own way in your career. Thank you for teaching me the value in doing the hard (and sometimes laborious) work it takes to be successful, instead of putting my career in the hands of someone else. Thank you for teaching me that the investments you make in the people you work with everyday are far more valuable in the long-run. Thank you for teaching me that there is no club, vetting, or secret handshake that will ever replace being nice and working hard.

Thank you to Scott, for telling me that advertising was an actual career I could pursue.

Thank you Fernando, for telling me that I sucked and needed to work harder to be more competitive. I really needed to hear that.

Thank you to my first job for firing me. I hated you but never would have left.

Thank you to every terrible boss I’ve had and every bad ad I’ve made. I’ve learned far more from you than you will ever know.

Thank you to Bekah, for seeing potential in me when others didn’t.

Thank you to my wife for always giving me the support I need to take bigger risks.

Thank you to everyone who's let me share my ideas and supported goals. I love you all.

*Justin currently lives in Los Angeles, CA and works as Creative Director of Global Brand Marketing at Instagram*