Nobody Has the Right to Step on Your Dreams

© Olga Lyubkin - Fotolia

"If anybody laughs at your idea view it as a sign of potential success."
Jim Rogers

In looking for some inspiration to launch my brain this morning, I found the quote above and it simply hit home. I've written before about the importance of feeding your brain with a little motivational reading. Every now and then I love to just wander through a few of the better quote books.

The quote above is from "Dance first. Think later." It's by Kathryn & Ross Petras. If you want to find out more about their books, just click on the book to the left and you'll be on the Amazon page. In regards to the quote...

We're in the middle of the trade show season in photography and I'm thinking about things people have laughed about. Here's one from the archives...

Over thirty years ago Steve Sheanin founded WPPI. He did it because none of the other shows or associations would recognize what everybody then called the "weekend warrior", part time photographers with full time day jobs. There were plenty of people who put bets on WPPI not lasting past their first show, but it grew every year and twenty-five years later it was one of the biggest shows in the country.

Even closer to home is the criticism I got when I started out on my own in 2009. The economy was certainly the worst in my life time, but I was tired of working for other people and wanted to do more things to be involved in the industry and work directly with more photographers. Well, here I am almost six years later and things just keep getting better. I'm involved in more projects with more photographers and companies than ever before, but best of all is the smile I wake up with every morning.

Then there are companies in our industry, who just a few years ago didn't exist.  Sprouting Photographer is one of my favorites. I'm sure there were plenty of people who thought, "Just what we need, another podcast series!" Well, they won "Best of 2014 Podcasts" from Apple/iTunes and there's a reason - Bryan Caporicci and Rob Nowell believed in there goal and never let anything slow them down.

Last on my list is Dawn Shields' story. She started with the profile of a "mom-with-a-camera". She worked hard to be the very best and I know when she started she must have heard some of the same criticism photographers have today about being a newbie...but four years ago she won Album of the Year in WPPI competition and it wasn't a wedding album. "Legacy" focused on her grandfather's life in Alcatraz and it's a stunning album.

So, the next time somebody laughs at you, think of it as a speed bump. It should only slow you down enough to check your confidence level in those things you believe in most and at the top of the list is YOU!  

I found a quote in 2009 that really described what I was feeling when a number of close friends and even family members thought I was nuts to be heading out on my own...

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"I do it because I can. I can because I want to. I want to because you said I couldn't!"

The bottom line? Nobody has the right to step on your dreams!