April 23, 2018
Doubts and regrets lurk inside all of us.
Live long enough, and you will have a past to contend with. We have all turned left at some point when we knew deep down to turn right. And that’s okay. Tomorrow is a new day. Today is a new day! Fearlessly face the future you actually want to see yourself in.
I’m writing this post for all you shoulda, coulda, wouldas out there. You over there who shoulda gone to college when your uncle offered to pay half the tuition. And you who coulda been a session guitarist if you hadn’t been preoccupied with your social life in high school. And hey to you thousands reading this who swear you’d be rich, or famous, or happy, or married, or not married, or skinny or, or, or if you woulda listened to your gut and acted on intuition, even if it was the harder decision at the time.
Your future starts now. And grabbing what’s yours is going to be hard work. You’ve got to love that grind. But the real truth? You can really only love the grind if you love what you do.
You can really only love the grind if you love what you do
What’s your passion? What would you do for free, because you just have to do it? Go, figure that out. Dig deep. And don’t listen to those who tell you your idea is impossible or unrealistic. Even people you love and trust will try to talk you out of your lofty dreams, because they don’t want to see you get hurt. They are coming from a place of love, but love is not what you need right now.
You need courage, grit and passion.
When Chris Kneeland my business partner, Rob Howard one of our most senior strategists, and I started The Gathering six years ago, everyone, from our employees, to our sponsors, and even to our award nominees, were skeptical. Ask me how many times I heard people tell me to my face, or worse, whisper behind my back, that we were too amateur to put on a conference of such caliber in North America? But we did it anyway, because we knew we had to follow through on our idea. And now, five years later, The Gathering is considered one of North America’s top marketing conferences – according to Forbes and many other international publications. It still feels unreal to write that last point down, but it is real. Through hard work and passion, we made it real.
Sometimes those crazy ideas that you don’t believe you have any business doing turn into something massive years later. The punchline?
o Act on your big vision
o Don’t be an idea guy (or girl!)
o Even if you start and fail, at least you started—start again—start differently—improve and refine always
Ideas are better done than perfect. Avoid the ShouldaCouldaWoulda the next time it shows up to derail your dreams.
Ryan began his professional life in digital marketing. His first company, Suitcase Interactive, was a consistent best-digital-agency award winner. And his tenacity and forward thinking also led him, personally, to being awarded a coveted place on the auspicious 40 under 40 list. (Notice that we're not telling you how many years ago that was, we're kinda attached to our kneecaps ; ) Those seminal years also led Ryan to the enlightenment that the whole concept of advertising and digital agencies was dead. From there it was a short putt to the birth of Cult, one of North America's first true engagement agencies. As Cult's President, his legacy as a pioneering thinker has blossomed from pushing pixels, to pushing forward what marketing actually means. Ryan then founded The Gathering in 2012, an annual international event to honor cult-like brands that put the generation of movements before the creation of ad campaigns. The Gathering is now widely acknowledged to be one of North America's premier annual marketing conferences. And it's an idea that has introduced Cult to brands like Keurig, Converse, Airbnb, UFC, Las Vegas Tourism and Red Bull, among many others… hey, there's only so many names you can drop in one bio. Never one to whine about the status quo, but rather put his energy into finding a better way, Ryan’s latest innovation is the founding of a whole new operating model for marketers, both on the client side and in the industry that serves them. Called Communo, this tech-enabled work model is an incomparable brain trust of talent for brands, a human resources platform for marketing professionals, and an unprecedented business development engine for both. In his "spare time" Ryan continues his strong commitment to giving back, both at home in Calgary, and around the world. He spearheads Cult's ongoing monthly commitment to Ronald McDonald House and continues to lead Project Smile, the international relief organization he founded over a decade ago. He even managed to find some spare, spare time to co-author three editions of Fix: Break The Addictions That Are Killing Brands, Cult's thought leadership book that's changing the way CEOs and CMOs see the marketing function. 
