The mural that almost broke me

I just wrapped up a project that perfectly embodied why I love what I do, not because everything went smoothly, but because absolutely nothing did.

If you've ever had a plan not go to plan, you're going to love this wild ride.

A few months ago, I landed a dream gig: designing the rebrand rollout for a major Melbourne business I've loved for a while, including adding their new brand to their head office and all Melbourne locations. Being the cheeky creative I am, I may have "accidentally" included some brand murals in the mockups... knowing full well I'd be the one painting them. Strategy? Absolutely.

Fast forward to this week, and Monday was meant to be mural day. Friday afternoon, I called to confirm everything was ready – especially checking that their painters had sorted the paint.

Plot twist: it wasn't ready. It was sitting in Broadmeadows while I needed to be in Nunawading. That's over an hour apart, and of course, they closed early on Fridays.

So this decidedly not-a-morning-person girly set her alarm, drove to Broady at the crack of dawn... only to discover they'd left the wrong colour entirely. Never mind that I was literally the one who matched their brand colours to paint codes in the first place.

Quick pivot: ducked into Resene, grabbed a 1L pot of the right shade, and made the trek to their HQ. And by this time it was already mid-morning, so I was kicking myself for "wasting time" (don't you love that, even when it wasn't my fault).

Time to project the design onto the wall, right? Wrong. The projector was no match for Melbourne's glorious sunshine that day. No worries, I had backup stencils for the star elements, I was even smug enough to prepare them with a level and everything, so I started putting plan B into action. Fast forward thirty minutes of measuring and remeasuring and re-remeasuring later, I threw in the towel on that idea too.

On to Plan C: the tried-and-true paper printout method. Which meant a trip to Officeworks. By now, that familiar tightness was creeping into my chest and throat – you know the one. The first Officeworks couldn't help... they had run out of paper (I wish I was joking). I could feel the frustration building, tears threatening to spill as I drove to the second location. Nope, their plan printer was out of commission. The drive to the third one felt endless, my hands gripping the steering wheel as I fought back the overwhelm.

Third time's the charm! I finally got my 2.5-meter sheets printing while I frantically scribbled 6B lead on the backs for transfer in their Desks section as each page printed. You know, the method we learnt in primary school. 🥳 Things were looking up. 🥳

Back at HQ by afternoon, I rolled out the paper and started the painstaking transfer process (did I mention this was a textured wall? Because of course it is). With each line I traced, I found myself whispering like a mantra: "It's all good Jaz, you got this. Just keep going." The transfer was working beautifully, and I finally – finally – put paint to wall at 4:30pm.

After being up and out the door since 7am.

AND with a Master Freelancer call at 6pm and a 50-minute drive home ahead of me. (Don't worry, I made the call.)

Tuesday brought different problems. Yesterday's glorious sunshine had been replaced by wind and rain. Actual rain. I'm painting a mural in an alcove that's semi-protected but definitely not weatherproof. My fingers were freezing, there are definitely a few bugs immortalised in blue paint, and I'm taking coaching calls with my 1:1 students from my car because the weather is swinging between gusty and fat droplets.

I'm finally starting to see the light, I've found my groove, and I have three stars to go... then it happened...

A gust of wind caught a drip from my brush and splattered blue paint across the pristine pink wall. Pure panic mode. I sprinted (read: drove legally fast) to Woolworths, grabbed magic erasers, and held my breath. Thankfully, it came off perfectly.

By 3pm on Tuesday afternoon, I was done. Two coats, wrapped, and absolutely in love with how it turned out. As you can see from my very tired pic below...

Here's what this project reminded me:

1. You can only do the best with what you have when you have it.

When you have more resources, you can do more. When you have less, you get creative. Wrong paint location? Drive there yourself. Projector fails? Find another way. Sometimes the limitations force the most creative solutions.

2. The only difference between the version of me who fails and the one who succeeds is keep trying.

Every hurdle, and there were many, was just another problem to solve, not a reason to quit. The branded mural moment exists because I kept showing up, even when nothing went to plan. I even had people taking photos as I left 🥰

3. The true mark of success isn't when everything goes perfectly, but what you do when the plan goes to shit.

And let me tell you, this plan went spectacularly sideways. But that's exactly when you prove what you're made of.

At every frustrating moment, I had to remind myself: this wasn't about my planning or my skills being inadequate. This was my opportunity to show myself just how damn good I am at what I do. The mural is gorgeous. The client is thrilled. And I've got a story that'll make me smile for years. But more than that, I've got another piece of evidence that I can handle whatever gets thrown my way.

If you're a creative, entrepreneur, or anyone building something meaningful, you know this feeling.

The day when everything that can go wrong does. The projects where your sanity and skills are challenged to their limits. When you're questioning if you planned well enough, if you have what it takes, if you're actually cut out for this.

Here's what I want you to remember: Those days aren't the exception, they're part of the process.

They're not evidence that you're not good enough; they're proof that you're doing something that matters enough to be challenging. Sometimes the best projects (and the most meaningful growth) come from the days that test every ounce of your creativity, resilience, and problem-solving skills.

This was definitely one of those days.

I share this story to show you that even those who seemingly have it all together have days where it goes to absolute shit. I hope the next time you're challenged, that you remember this story, that it matters enough to be challenging, and that you don't quit. But can I ask a favour? If you got to the end here, please hit reply and let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts, it means a lot x