Perseverance is the act of pushing through despite difficulty or challenge. How often are we faced with adversity? The anwer is quite a lot. On a regular basis we have challenges that come our way without warning or heads up. This isn't an excuse to give up and curl up into a ball, but rather an opportunity to push forward.

There is a school of thought which says that we should hide weakness and ignore pain or suffering. Remove it from your vocabulary and it's like it never happened. This path can be detrimental and ineffective in the long run. It doesn't serve us to live outside of reality. We have to address adversity.

By addressing struggle and being honest we can begin to put things into perspective. Make fair assessments of how difficult a task truly is and what it is going to take to persevere. Most of the time this fear is built up in our heads, so do yourself a favor get it out of your head and onto paper before you even thing about giving up.

When it comes to buy in, it is two fold. As an individual you have to be bought in to your career, hobbies, and life. The flip side of the coin is that you have to have buy in if you are going to lead a project yourself, whether that be a family, a company or a team. A team has to be bought in to be able to implement long lasting instrumental changes. This notion has been studied and analyzed time and time again. The question is how do we create it and better yet how do we maintain it.

How do you build something that people want to be a part of? That is the real question. Do you communicate the bigger vision, do you lead by example, do you identify purpose in the people around you? These are all valid questions and strategies that are worth being discussed. It is easy to buy in to something originally when things are fresh and easy, but as time goes on how do you keep the momentum up?

By identifying the why? You can begin to communicate and see a bigger vision and how each individual fits into that puzzle. Then you have to do the unsexy things to be able to lead by example. By doing the things nobody wants to you show others naturally the commitment you have to the cause. These easier said than done steps are just a couple ways buy in can be established, let us know what we missed because as always we are experts in almost nothing!

Almost Friday Media today is an established brand in the new age media world. Boasting more than a dozen channels, multiple podcasts, and sketches, Almost Friday Media has grown significantly since its early days as a proverbial meme page on instagram. A lot of that growth is in part thanks to our guest on the podcast today. Alex Edge is the VP of operations at Almost Friday Media. The individual that has helped create the systems and processes that have scaled this company from 6 employees to approximately 40 in about 2 years. Alex is quick though to pass the praise and admit the growth and success has been a team effort. During our time together he constantly reminded us of all the talented individuals that have helped him on his journey and how none of the success he has received would be possible without the others around him.

This humble mindset and attitude is a theme that while contrary is what he attributes to his success over the course of his career. Alex outlined the importance of chasing your wildest dreams, but advocated for doing it a little differently than maybe what is portrayed in the movies. He believes the key to his success has been his ability to get along with others and work hard. Seems simple right? Alex Edge is the epitome of first in the office and last out of the office, always there to keep the ship moving in the right direction. The thing that separates Alex is his ability to inspire and understand the people around him, and always allow them to feel heard. Recognizing what an individual or the room needs to hear at any given moment.

This soft skill which has set Alex apart over the years has been a staple over the course of his storied career, in television, film and digital media. He has worked on projects like Adam Ruins Everything, Chopped, and College Humor. He describes the ups and downs of chasing your dreams, from his first days in Los Angeles as a broke kid parking boats in the marina all the way to the future of digital media for Almost Friday. While this episode is chalked full of takeaways the one we are most left with is the Edge’s ability to lead with an undeniable combination of effort and compassion. Enjoy this episode from a friend and hero of ours, Alex Edge!