How Long Are You Willing to Knock?

© Sondem

It's a Saturday morning and I woke up with absolutely no idea what to blog about. Then, as often happens, I picked up "Dance first. Think Later." It's part of a series of books, at least four, by Kathryn and Ross Petras. (Click the cover on the right if you want to check them out.)

These books, along with a variety of other authors help feed my brain something other than business, marketing and photography. Often it's the jump-start I need to get my day going in the right direction. 

Well, they never let me down and I found the perfect quote for where my head was going this morning:

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"If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate you are bound to wake up somebody."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I always get a little retrospective on the weekends, and here's where that quote took me. 

In college I decided I wanted to be a writer. I wrote an outrageously trite piece, probably while under the influence of some illegal substance. It was called "The Blues is Love"....I remember writing it while the stereo blasted, and the more I wrote, the more brilliant I saw myself. The next morning I tracked down an address for Alice Cooper and mailed it to him. That's right, no shortage of arrogance here - I was destined to be a songwriter, and I knew it. 

I never heard back from him, but I wasn't done. There was a great little subculture magazine out then called Evergreen - so I sent it to them and got my first rejection letter.

Well, I gave up on the immediate quest, but I kept documenting my thoughts and knew I enjoyed writing. Sooner or later I knew I'd do something as a writer.

Longfellow's quote this morning got me thinking about so many of you and the doors you keep knocking on.  In turn, I thought of a couple of tips/reminders that might help you on your journey to becoming a great artist:

• Be patient, but don't slow down on your quest.
  
• Never stop practicing. Just like a concert musician practicing the skills, you have to keep your skills sharp.
  
• Surround yourself with positive people and get the negative people out of your life.
  
• Network, network, network. Attend every convention and workshop you can and don't just meet the speaker/instructor. Take the time to talk to everybody sitting around you.
  
• Be different. Anybody can shoot at f8/125 - mix it up - change lenses - change cameras - play with exposure and composition.
  
• Be proud! You're part of an amazing industry giving the world their memories. Respect the craft, but even more important, don't compromise on quality and respect yourself.

And, oh yeah, be patient! Yes, it's here twice. Just keep knocking on those doors. Stay current on your blog. Be consistently active in your community and let your passion show every day.