I’ve always been a leader in the whole “fake it ’til you make it” lifestyle. When I started my career, I walked into every client meeting after giving myself a ten minute pep talk in the car reminding myself that I am good, I know what I’m doing, I will be the best photographer, and they will book me. On the outside I probably appear to be a human being with an insane amount of confidence but the truth of the matter is, I have always believed in acting like the person you want to become. I read this article of faking it by one of my favorite Minnesota girls, Wit and Delight, and was reminded that it’s important to emulate the people you want to be like while also keeping it real and staying grounded. I related to that post on so many levels because the way others see us is vastly different to the way we see ourselves. We are our own worst critics but I am slowly trying to make us our own biggest fans.
Last year when I won the Best Photographer award from Wisconsin Bride Magazine, I was proud for so many reasons. I was proud that I was one of the youngest winners ever (if not the youngest), I was proud that I was a company of one, I was proud that I had surrounded myself with people who believe in the beauty of my dreams, and I was proud that I had my family there to celebrate it with me. The truth is, when you run your own business, you wear many hats. You aren’t just a photographer, you are a marketer, email responder, editor, planner, scheduler, accountant, social media expert, blogger, branding guru, meeting runner, and all around awesome human being. You are constantly juggling multiple projects, your brain feels like an internet explorer window with a million tabs open, and you never really are “done.” We are critical of ourselves feeling like our work is never done and we seldom celebrate milestones in our careers because we are always on to the next thing.
What if we became our own number one fan? What if we believed in ourselves enough to say the good things about us? What if we got comfortable talking about our successes and inviting others to share in our joy? I’m not saying we need to go out and “toot our own horns” everyday but I am saying we should start getting comfortable cheering ourselves on. Be your publicist, say your mantras out loud, stop worrying about faking it and start living it. Be bold, go against the grain, and get comfortable with being proud of yourself. There is nothing worse than an artist who doubts their work, there is nothing better than working with someone who is confident and excited to create for you. Be the latter, be excited, and get out and do those things you’ve been dreaming of. If only you could hear all the kind things people are saying about you, if only you could believe all of those truths and let go of those negative voices in your head. I’m daring you to be your biggest fan, to believe in yourself, and to make it happen! I’ll be here cheering you on, so get and go!
Did you write this for me? 😉 It’s as if you were speaking right to me! I have such an issue with confidence, but I’m slowly working on myself!