Finding Wow: Unlocking The Creator
Finding My Wow: Untraining the Achiever, Embracing the Creator
In the quest for success, we often lose sight of the very essence of what makes us whole. My journey over the last twenty years, both in and out of the halls of corporate America, was not just a pursuit of accolades and achievements; it was a path that led me to unearth and embrace parts of myself that had long been buried. The past five years have been pivotal, opening my eyes to who I truly am and making me question what bringing my full self into my work would mean for those around me. Now, as I start More Wow, a new multi-disciplinary design firm, I am completing a process of rediscovery and reclaiming my authentic self, merging my passion for creativity with my professional journey.
The Masks We Wear: Hiding and Unveiling the Self
Whether it’s spending time overturning rocks to find rolly pollies, chasing lightning bugs, or imagining tea with friends, many of us grow up with a natural curiosity and a wide range of interests, thriving on creativity and exploration. For me, it was all of those things. I excelled in art and science, mastering languages, horseback riding, and swimming.
However, as we grow older and look back, many of us have drifted far from who we knew we once were—our innate gifts and our personalities being somewhat flattened, our true perspectives muddled. It’s not anyone’s fault, but we’ve been crushed by sexism, racism, homophobia, a relentless culture of achievement, pandemics, and injuries—both physical and emotional—slowly overshadowing our authentic path with a drive to achieve, or in some cases, to survive.
If I’m honest with myself, I dropped many of my earlier interests by high school, as I entered a relentless pursuit of achievement. It’s not that I had become someone new, but I became an expert at identity yo-yo. Each step toward being true to myself was met with moments of retreat, driven by fear and societal expectations. Being accepted to Princeton, a capstone of my educational life, came along with years of hiding my sexuality from myself and the world. Coming out, which allowed me to fit more comfortably in my skin, came along with suppressing my artistic and creative interests. I later attended Wharton, jettisoning a more creative career in innovation in favor of management consulting. This yo-yo struggle of revealing and concealing my true self created a vicious cycle, ultimately leading to compounded feelings of loss and disconnection.
Ironically, my ability to be a career chameleon and a life adapter is also a gift I’ve worked to hone. My adaptability has been a large part of what has allowed me to deal with different life starts and stops, and amass so many diverse skills over time. I’ve lived and worked on five continents and had a range of careers—as a marketer, a management consultant, a futurist, an entrepreneur, and a product manager. Even event planner and now interior designer are part of my resume.
It’s not that I’ve been professionally schizophrenic or that the yo-yo games have prevented direction. There has always been an intentional thread of innovation in my work, but it took a crisis for me to finally set myself on a path that fully made sense.
Breaking Points and Rediscovering the Artist Within
The COVID-19 pandemic, which, for me, coincided with being hit by a car in a bike accident (which I call The Big Bang), provided many of us with an unexpected opportunity for introspection and drastic life change. The solitude of a lockdown with our feet up stripped away the distractions, leaving us alone with our thoughts—evaluating what was going right and wrong and what we really wanted for ourselves. Some people took action right away. Only two weeks ago I attended a wedding of two friends who met and shacked up during the pandemic.
For me, I realized that my relentless pursuit of achievement had simply turned into a pursuit, and The Big Bang only marked the start of a process to actively work on unraveling and re-exploring who I am. It was in this period of introspection that I experienced a creative reawakening. I reconnected with the passions that had once defined me—art, design, and the sheer joy of creating. I began to draw again, to take horseback riding lessons, and I became a ceramicist. This resurgence of creativity led me to a profound realization: to truly live authentically, I needed to embrace all facets of my identity and find ways to bring my diverse talents into my life and work. I enrolled in courses at Parsons and became a certified interior designer through the Design Society of America. Through these experiences, I felt my skills coming together, realizing how they could create value and make a meaningful impact.
When you begin to understand yourself, it becomes easier to discern the superficiality around you. A particularly revealing experience occurred when I was tasked with launching an artificial intelligence product. Despite receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from users, I was continually asked to navigate numerous bureaucratic obstacles and, at one point, to demonstrate that my product had the elusive quality of "wow." This demand, nonsensical in light of the positive user responses, highlighted how certain work environments can obscure one's true value and potential. It was then that I realized the "wow" we bring to our work is a reflection of the "wow" within us. This experience underscored not only the importance of recognizing and embracing our intrinsic worth but also the necessity of defending and protecting our work. It taught me to stand in my power, recognize when enough is enough, and assert my value without succumbing to endless external demands.
The Vision of More Wow
With a renewed sense of purpose, I founded More Wow, a design firm that embodies my journey towards self-discovery and creative freedom. More Wow is not just a business; it is the culmination of my belief in the power of design to transform lives. It is about breaking boundaries and redefining experiences, creating spaces that are as unique and multifaceted as the individuals who occupy them, and creating products as engaging as the people who use them. We're not just building a mall-mom interior design shop; we're leveraging all of the skills I've amassed along my journey—excellence in project management, retail expertise, and the ability to utilize and create technology-based experiences.
At More Wow, we offer comprehensive design services that include discovery, market, and user research to inform our design strategies. We develop innovative concepts for interiors, experiences, and products, ensuring they meet market demands through rigorous validation processes. Additionally, we integrate advanced technologies, such as virtual reality and 3D modeling, to enhance our design work, and we develop AI-driven solutions to streamline processes and personalize design experiences for our clients. Our aim is to ensure that technology complements and strengthens our core design work, integrating smart home technologies and automation systems to create truly transformative spaces.
Through More Wow, I aim to help others—both individuals and brands—discover their own "wow" moments—those profound instances of self-discovery and realization that inspire them to operate authentically in our world. By continuing to think big through the lens of design, I strive to push boundaries and create innovative solutions that resonate deeply with the essence of individuality.
A Call to Fellow Seekers
To those who find themselves at a crossroads, contemplating the next step in their journey, I offer this: embrace your passions and pursue what resonates with your soul. The path may be fraught with uncertainties, but it is also rich with the promise of fulfillment and growth. Trust in your journey, and remember that living authentically is the greatest adventure of all.
Thank you for sharing in my story. Here’s to finding your own wow and creating a life that is a true reflection of who you are.
Russell Goldman
Owner and Principal, More Wow