Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy

LUMIX G9 with 14-140mm lens and one LitraTorch 2.0 - Minor post-processing in Luminar using the Clarity Booster

Just a reminder - I always go off-track from the business and marketing of photography on Sunday mornings. Although, this morning there is a link - at least in terms of chasing your goals and dreams...

I'm almost back to those quiet Sunday mornings I used to refer to. They just start a little later, and after puppy time. I've learned a lot over the last thirty-nine days, twenty-one hours and eleven minutes, but who's counting? 

The backstory is a short one. We lost Molly the Wonder Dog to Cancer in February. It took a long time to stop missing her, and just over five weeks ago, we decided it was time to bring a pup back into our life.

Here's the key to the smile in my heart and the bags under my eyes. Sheila wanted a small dog and one that wasn't with me all the time. I wanted a bigger dog - so somehow our logic suggested TWO dogs. While we started looking at rescues, we wanted non-shedding small dogs, joining the family at the same time, and females. Meet Belle and Lucy. Belle will grow to ten pounds and Lucy to twenty-five, and they're inseparable. 

I have no idea what made us think at this point in our lives we'd have the patience for two puppies. Puppies are cute; they make you smile, but they also bring out the Jekyll and Hyde in your personality. One minute I'm laughing and having a ball playing with them, the next minute I'm running to the door to get them outside before they pee on the floor. 

The word "NO!" has never been more active in my vocabulary, and there are days when if it wasn't for the F-bomb, the house would be silent. I go back and forth between pure joy and trying to remember what life was like once upon a time. And we're almost always tired since we both get up early with the pups and start the daily routine.​

And here's my point - 

You have to go wholeheartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having.
Frank Lloyd Write

​I've worked with so many young photographers over the years who feel the need to rush the process. They want overnight success and often have never taken the time to define what that means. 

I'll use Belle and Lucy as examples - we're still a long way from two pups who have run of the house. But each day, there's another milestone. They're only five months old, but the process, although exhausting, has taught me more about myself and my relationship with Sheila. First, there's nothing the two of us can't accomplish together, and second, there are so many different ways to get each task done.

Sheila couldn't be more consistent in her approach to the pups...as a result, they both know the minute we say go to bed, they run to their crate. When she says "come" to Belle, the pup comes running. When I say it to Lucy, she stares at me and takes some coaxing. So, as the dogs learn those essential basic commands, I'm learning that my way isn't always the one that works.
 
If we had it to do over again, we probably wouldn't do two puppies at the same time, but now that we're here, I wouldn't trade the smile in my heart for anything...except 10-12 hours of sleep!

So, whatever your goals are for the rest of the year and into 2020 - hit them with everything you've got! Go all out and give every dream the horsepower it deserves. Don't compromise on the things most important to you, but also remember there are people all around who care about you and are willing to give you a hand!

And for today - go for those long hugs - eleven to twenty seconds is the suggested time these days. Share those hugs with those people in your life most important to you. They're the ones who challenge you not to be mediocre! 

​Happy Sunday or Monday if you're following me from the other side of the world.