The Contest.
When I was 10yrs old, I entered a drawing contest featured on the back of a Kelloggs Rice Krispies cereal box. The challenge? Draw the Rice Krispies elves – AKA Snap, Crackle, and Pop – on a camping trip, eating their own cereal for breakfast.
I was always sketching and doodling, so I set to work illustrating Snap, Crackle, and Pop on a camping trip – on a crisp piece of white paper from my mom’s typewriter with colored pencils. When finished, I placed the picture in a large manila envelope and mailed it off.
Truth be told, in the weeks that followed, I completely forgot about the drawing and the contest. This was back in the day – 1980 to be exact – when you actually had to put stuff in the mail and wait for a response. Crazy, right?
About 3 months later, I came home from school and my mom was grinning ear to ear, holding an envelope addressed to me, from Kelloggs. “What’s that?” I asked. She handed it to me, still smiling. “Remember the contest you entered?” I was like, “OH YEAH!” and tore into the envelope. The opening line?
The Win.
“Congratulations, you are the grand prize winner of our Rice Krispies drawing contest, and are entitled to a brand new Schwinn Bikes 10-speed bicyle!”
You can imagine how thrilled I was, right? A 10-year old boy winning a brand new bike?! The next Saturday we drove to a Schwinn Bikes dealer, and there it was on display in the front window …Candy Apple Red metallic paint, black leather seat, and grips wrapped in cushioned, high performance black handlebar tape. I handed the shop owner my official letter from Kelloggs and pointed to the bike in the window. “That’s the one” I said.
We pulled into our driveway two hours later, and after my dad unloaded the 10-Speed from the back of our wood-paneled station wagon, I jumped on and pedaled hard up the hill to the highest point in our neighborhood.
I’ll never forget what happened next.
The Feeling.
I reached the hilltop, turned the bike around, gripped the handlebars, and slammed my feet into the pedals – determined to make the most of that hill and go as fast as that bike and my legs would allow. And it was everything-a-10yr-old-boy-could-want glorious.
I remember it all – the wind in my hair, the breeze on my face, the sun at my back – and the feeling of knowing I’d accomplished something I was proud of. But even more so, I remember how great it felt to have my own wheels under me, and the sense that I could go places I wasn’t able to before.
If you’re a small business owner or a solopreneur you can relate – because that’s what it feels like when you finally get your idea off the ground. And it means all the more because it was you pedaling hard uphill, you putting in the work, you building something from nothing.
10 SPEED Studios was born from this idea – that a small team, even just one person – can accomplish big things. So we salute the doers, the dreamers, the makers and the thinkers, who are working hard to put wheels under their vision.
Know that when you need help – we’re here for you.
#10SPEEDStudios #StorybrandCertifiedGuide #ColumbusOH #creativeagency
. . . . .
Up next? Just Keep Pedaling.
