I used to do a lot of dumb crap that ended up becoming useful later on in life.

I did these things just for fun.

Maybe I was a nerd.
Maybe I had too much free time.
But they almost always translated into useful skills SOMEWHERE down the line.

In high school I started to learn Photoshop for fun.  I illegally downloaded it and tinkered around.  Since I was a high school student around the year 2000, there wasn’t much use for it, so I used it for dumb things.

I used to do crap like take pictures of my first car (a 1992 Mercury Sable) shown here:

….and I would Photoshop different rims and graphics onto the car like this:OOhhhhhh yeeeaaa Pimp My Ride!!!

….OK, clearly this was stupid, but by accident I started teaching myself Photoshop.

Now I use Photoshop on a daily basis for….
–Friends ask for images to be modified.
–I can mockup spec-sheets for outsourcing really well (like this and this).
–I can make website elements really quick.
–I can make stuff for my blog and business instantly.
–I can show a developer exactly what I want on a webpage.

Through “stupid things” I also learned to:
–Make webpages.
–Make & use blogs and eCommerce systems.
–Started to write.
–Do handstands and backflips.
….and way more.

So if there’s a dumb hobby you have, stupid thing you wanna learn….  GO DO IT and don’t worry if it’s “useful”!

There’s always some useful application for it in the future!
Sincerely,
Neville Medhora

 
P.S.  I still remember this picture being the favorite thing I ever Photoshopped in high school!