I am not a celebrity (Rockstar or otherwise) I am a Portrait Photographer.
I have chosen to turn down all talks and workshops for the next year as I am a Portrait Photographer and I love my job and I love my business. Of course creativeLIVE has become my dearest friends and family and for as long as they want me on their platform I will say yes to them. I will continue to provide the worldwide community of Glamour and Contemporary Portrait Photographers with my teaching and knowledge but I do not need to be on a stage to do that. Just from my computer and from my studio doing the work. I am creating an umbrella to help knit, nurture and grow this community as best I can because I really believe in this journey and this service.
I have built an incredibly successful and fulfilling business on seeing and capturing beauty – connection and a desire to give this as a service. I am grateful and blessed beyond measure. The more I provide this service and apply this gratitude the more successful I seem to become (another obvious and insightful lesson) You see I used to be a fear mongering critical egotistical competitive person and Photographer. I haven’t stopped being these things, I am now just more aware of when I am in this place and I turn it back to gratitude and get on with it.
After I delivered that talk on fear (further down on my Blog if you haven’t seen it already) I started to question how much am I talking the talk and walking the walk. I want to wake up every day and only work from a place of joy. If I were not enjoying it why would I do it? You see I talk the talk and walk the walk in my business. Everything I teach you about my business is tried and true. But there are aspects of my personal self that have taken a back seat to my business. These are now going to get 100% of my attention. Putting myself first is the biggest one of them all. I am for all intent and purpose an over supporter I give people advice even when they don’t ask for it. I have done this in the past to be liked and feel important and valued. I do not need to do this anymore. I need to take my own advice.
I needed to become successful, I wanted to be the best businessperson I could be HELL or high water. I needed to do this to prove that I was a valuable human being, that I was GOOD ENOUGH. I needed to earn money to prove that I was good enough but the irony is the more I stopped needing to be validated and the more I give with my heart and with enjoyment the more that comes back to me. It’s nice to build an audience and be acknowledged but I am uncomfortable with applause. Every beautiful email I receive about your business/life improving I read with tears in my eyes and this audience also comes with expectation and sometimes harsh (anonymous) criticism too. But that’s all part of embracing all the parts of YOU even the unowned parts that are hard to look at. The truth is every single person that I photograph that see’s themselves is the greatest gift I can give, every time I give business advice and share with you my experience, you get an opportunity to try it and grow too.
So join me in the next year building your self, building your folio and your brand, building your connection to service and business and watch how they are all tied up together. Your value of your self and product will increase when you believe it and the more you put into that the greater the return. It is not an easy path but then if you wanted easy you wouldn’t be trying to be more. You would just do the same and get the same. If you need a reminder or a kick in the A@$ come back here. Know doubt your need to be reminded will be my need too.
Thank you to Andy Bryce and Viv my Big brother and Sister in law for watching my Fear talk when you told me you cried I couldn’t stop.
Thank you Hailey Bartholomew for showing me I’m in ‘The Arena’ I am brave and I am proud to be there.
Thank you Brene Brown for reminding me of this great quote and your beautiful Ted Talk on vulnerability
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
~Theodore Roosevelt
