Live to start and start to live. We have all heard that question: What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail? We are all waiting for something—more time, more energy, more money, whatever it is. It is far too easy to sometimes we forget that there is a limited amount of time. Don’t spend it all waiting. Start something now. I stuck my nose into “The Power of Starting Something Stupid” and received a wake up call and kick in the pants just in the first few pages. The back cover says it all and I want you to read these words slowly and thoughtfully, my friends.
What if the smartest people in the world understand something that the rest of us don’t? They do. What if they know that in order to achieve success, they will sometimes have to do things that others may initially perceive as stupid? The fact of the matter is that the smartest people in the world don’t run from stupid, they lean into it – in a smart way.
After dwelling on that and the notion that what may at times be perceived as stupid is really a road to success that has never been walked helped remind me to create my own path. To follow my gut, my intuitions, and to not discard ideas for fear of rejection. One thing I have decided is that I don’t want to take the normal path photographers take, I don’t want newspaper flyers, or endless days of putting on a professional persona. I want to be real, raw, authentic – just the way I expect my clients to feel in front of my lens. As I have started opening up about my life in this little corner of the world wide web, I have realized that it has opened doors to make connections with real people, people who don’t need to pretend that life is a perfect little fairy tale. Just as I have peeled away the layers or normalcy and shared struggles, triumphs, and everyday yoga pant wearing life, so to have people opened up their hearts to me.
In an industry where cultural norms have become so common that you can’t distinguish one photographer from the next, it is so important to be unique, to be different. Someone else’s different shouldn’t look like mine, just as I am the only one who shares my dreams. As we constantly compare and compete, we lose ourselves in the race and slowly become just another number on google. I don’t want to be just a wedding photographer, I want to be a flawed but beautiful human that you want in your life. I don’t want to just be known for taking photos, I want to be remembered as a woman who was filled with life and words and joy. As I continue to open up about the reality of life as a young business owner, I feel like people are able to see a real me. That they understand that I am just one woman who works hard and loves naps, who is overjoyed at the thought of a wedding but who loves snuggling on the couch on a Friday night. They lose this expectation for perfect and embrace me – flaws and all.
Opening up is something that many photographers refuse to do – not many blog daily and pretty much no one shares tidbits of their life through their words and imagery on a daily basis. I may be the only one to admit the not-so-glamorous life as a puppy mom who works from the couch, but I am honest and true to my being. I am in love with this simple life, I am seeking to live fully, and I am real. The notion of sharing this life with you may be a stupid one, but to me it is one that I love, that fuels my passion and makes my soul shine. So what is it you are waiting on? What’s that idea that you have tucked into the depths of your soul in fear that it may be rejected by the world? What is holding you back from chasing your dreams, as small or silly they may be? Be stupid, be fearless, and stay true to your convictions… you just might be the smart one.
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