Written by Joey Gomez

April, 2024

 

A few weeks ago, we had the cllctd. 5 Year Anniversary Party at our storefront pop-up shop in Wicker Park. It was an awesome night consisting of good house music, friends, family, food, drinks, networking, and clothes. At one point I grabbed the microphone and gave a short speech, this blog post is an extended version of that. So sit back, grab a hot tea, read and enjoy.

On the back of the 5 Year Anniversary t-shirt you’ll see “Relentless Faith and Persistence”. These two words — Faith and Persistence — have been very important to me in my journey with cllctd. and in my life in general. I’m about to tell you why.

Faith can mean something slightly different to everyone. For me it is about what keeps me internally at peace, and about believing in things unseen or that haven’t happened yet. Personally, I believe that the Intelligence which created the Universe, our solar system, the planet we live on, and all of the nature we see around us, also lives within each of us. I have faith in the idea that this grand Intelligence is working through each of us to carry out its purpose. 

Each of us have multiple important reasons for being. I think when those reasons become more clear to us, we can more easily live a fulfilling life. It is each of our responsibilities to connect with this higher power as closely as we can, align ourselves with our reasons for being, then go out into the world being guided by that.

Faith is also about believing in yourself — “yourself” meaning all of the actions you take. Faith in a higher power helps strengthen your confidence in EVERYTHING you do because you feel like you are fueled by the same energy that powers the entire Universe. Faith can be applied to the goals you have written down. Having faith is about believing that the things you have planned WILL take place. This leads to my next point about Persistence.

Persistence is about action. It’s about doing the work. Persistence is about the commitments you set for yourself. It’s about NEVER giving up. It’s about not letting a “bad day” completely halt all of your momentum. When you have persistence, you have a growth approach to life, and you view every struggle as an opportunity to grow and learn. 

 

Persistence is also about your mindset. Say you’re trying to eat healthier or stay committed to a new diet, and one day you eat some junk food. You have two options: You can get upset with yourself and spiral into a self-defeating episode of guilt and potentially lose your commitment to your diet. Or, you can just continue on eating healthy the next time you eat. The same thing applies in business, or when trying to set good habits for yourself. If you make a mistake or slip out of your discipline, having persistence is about learning from your behaviors and mistakes, adjusting, then continuing onward. 

When you’re working towards a goal and you quit, you have a zero percent chance of achieving that goal. But, if you keep going, if you keep trying, you will always have a chance. 

Persistence with cllctd. over the past 5 years has been about not settling on previous ideas that worked, and always challenging ourselves to come up with new ideas. Some ideas turn out hot, and some simply don't. Coming up with ideas for new clothes, events, and projects is only the beginning, then you need to execute and get the project out in the world. A big part of our persistence has been about following a project through to the end. It can be so easy to pull out of a project once an obstacle bubbles up, or have your effort dwindle once the excitement of starting has faded. Persistence is about having the discipline, willpower, and resolve to see an idea through to its full potential.

I am still in the learning phase of building this brand, fostering community, and running a business. cllctd. is an ongoing project and it is the direct result of the amount of continuous effort and faith poured into it. This same equation can be applied to anything in life that you want to bring to fruition.  

Any song, movie, book, piece of art, business idea, culinary creation —anything that humans have made— is the result of Manifestation.

Manifesting and Creating is the result of Faith + Persistence.

Thought + Faith + Planning + Action + Persistence = Manifesting 

… 

The “Only Time Will Tell” on the t-shirt alludes to the fact that only God knows what will happen in the future. Only time will tell if our faith and persistence were true. All we can do is try our best and hope that when the future arrives, we arrive where we want to be.

To each of you reading this, I wish you continued faith, persistence, and prosperity in your journey.