Getting Paid $8.33/hour & Walking Away a Millionaire
How significant can a small amount of money be when you’re growing up?
When I was younger, my mother introduced me to pop, rap and house music and I quickly fell in love with it.
Buying the latest “So Fresh” CD’s and various other albums, we used to play them from our CD player and enjoy the music together.
Anytime we’d be in the car, always turning the radio up and singing along to our favourite songs was how we used to connect.
When I started diving into house music a little more, I became obsessed with DJs. I loved how they would mix tracks seamlessly as if they were telling a story through the tracks they were playing. I saw videos of crowds going crazy to them and I wanted to become one.
In Year 6, downloading Virtual DJ and playing around with that software became a regular hobby until in Year 7, I worked with my dad for 5 days to pay off a Mixvibes U-Mix Control 2.
My first MIDI DJ Controller would be my favourite thing to play with in all of my spare time. Pretending I was on stage playing to thousands of people excited me and brought joy every time.
I used to make mixes, record them and upload them to youtube and soundcloud - I loved the creative process it brought.
At the end of Year 8, I was asked to DJ my first house party - A friend’s sister’s 16th
Given this were the Year 10’s - I made sure I over prepared my playlist for the night and practiced for hours leading up to it.
Practicing ended up wearing my headphones out and 2 nights before the gig - I snapped my Beats Mixr’s.
Quickly I bought a replacement with money I had left over from working with Dad and I was ready for the Saturday night.
Arriving that night was nerve-wracking though everyone shook my hand, made me feel welcome as if I was one of them - that quickly calmed the nerves and I was playing and having fun the entire time.
After dinner was a highlight that night - everyone filled the dancefloor and danced. They made big circles, danced in small groups and enjoyed themselves. That was a good feeling.
After 6 hours of playing, I start to wrap up and I turned the music off at midnight.
As I packed away my gear, my friend comes to me with $50 and thanks me for playing.
It’s funny, I played that night with no expectation of getting paid - It was fun for me and that’s all I saw it as.
Receiving the $50 that night showed me a lot:
I could get paid doing something I love
“Work” doesn’t have to be tiring
Creating a great environment was something of value
My mum picked me up and I had more energy than I had ever felt. I did something I loved, others loved it and I was appreciated for it.
I only had $50 for 6 hours “work” but I left that party a millionaire.
I’ve now taken those lessons and I’ve ran with them.
I now live every day doing something that invites a great environment for others whilst doing what excites me.
Thankfully I was paid $8.33/hour to learn that I can live from a place of excitement and passion whilst contributing to others - Something I’ve dedicated my life to.
