 by Skip Cohen My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all died of Alzheimer's. Two days ago, my good friend, Kristen Jensen, who also lost her mother to the disease, shared a post about Alzheimer's on Facebook. I'm unsure where the post started, but it was one of those please-share-chain-letter-type posts. While I normally hate stuff like this, it was so spot-on and accurate to what we experienced with my mother. I started this post with the plan to share it yesterday, Throwback Thursday. I decided to combine a few of my favorite throwback images of my Mom with my own version of a public service message, which is below. Well, I posted the piece on my FB page and was surprised at the response from so many people. So, I decided to hold off and wrap up the week with an additional focus on the Alzheimer's aspect, and a mini-tribute to Mom, including a hand-colored portrait from around 1940.   Robin Williams took his own life because he was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. Bruce Willis learned that his illness is Frontotemporal dementia and Lew Body Dementia (FTD). One of the hardest things to process is the slow change in the one you love. Becoming a completely different person. Everything changes. Just so you know...it's called the long goodbye. Rapidly shrinking brain is how doctors described it. As the patient's brain slowly dies, they change physically and eventually forget who their loved ones are and become less themselves. Patients can eventually become bedridden, unable to move and unable to eat or drink or talk to their loved ones.
There will be people who will scroll by this message because Dementia, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's has not touched them. They may not know what it's like to have a loved one who has fought or is fighting a battle. In an effort to raise awareness of this cruel disease, I would like to see at least 5 of my friends put this on their timeline. I'll settle for at least one. If you're one of those people who believe Alzheimer's and Dementia only happen to the "other guys:" According to the Alzheimer's Association, as of 2023, an estimated 6.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease. This number is expected to increase to 13.8 million by 2060. (source: Google) But if the disease is already touching your life, here are some ideas that helped us through the "storms" a lot.
There's no getting around the pain of dealing with losing a loved one to Alzheimer's, but there is so much help available. Don't forget to talk to your doctor about the newest drugs available. There's some incredible progress made with certain types of Dementia, especially Alzheimer's. Most important of all...remember you're NOT alone!
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 Everything changed the day he figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in his life. The StoryPeople by Skip Cohen I know I shared the quote above a few years ago, but when something inspires us, our perspective can change as time goes by. Sheila and I have a collection of StoryPeople art, and this morning, I read the quote above. This post is for those of you "Chicken Littles" who spend your life worrying about time. You can't slow it down and you can't stop it, but if you get it in the right perspective, the speed that time flies by becomes an asset. I admit, being an old fart helps in the way I look at time today, and here's my point... I've learned to appreciate my goals and not be restricted by the time needed to accomplish what's important in my life. Over the years, I wasted so much time worrying about what I wanted to accomplish on any given day. I wasted time picking low-hanging fruit, not because it was easy to pick, but because my loftier goals might use up too much time. Life became about the quantity of things I got done, not always the quality! This is a short post this morning. Stop worrying about time and just focus on the task at hand. I've learned that everything always works out for the better, and while some goals and tasks are more difficult than others, once you accept that you really can have it all, everything falls into place. Happy Tuesday! PS And if you're looking for some great inspiration, thoughts on romance or simply a different perspective on life, check out the StoryPeople's website. (Please note: I do NOT work for them. They are not a client - I just love the way they seem to know exactly what's in my head and how to write it down.)  Click to visit the StoryPeople website  by Skip Cohen It's Marketing Monday, and I'm continuing with Business Breakthroughs, a series of tips to help make your message as a small business owner and artist stand out. I want to help you crush the chaos that gets in the way of your messages to your target audience. Whether you're blogging or simply sharing on social media like Facebook, for example, so many of you have trouble coming up with topics to write about.  "But Skip, there's nothing to write about!" As a photographer, you do things every day you take for granted. Let's help your readers become better artists. They're not going to open up down the street and compete with you. So, whether they use a real camera or a cell phone - let's help them raise the bar on their images.
Remember, your website is about what you sell, but your blog or social media posts should be about what's in your heart! It's important to simply be helpful. And think about the demographics of your target audience, which for most of you is "Mom."
And to take it a step further, some of you have the skills and ability to hold physical classes and photo walks to help your audience capture better memories. As their skills grow and you become more established as the expert in your community, you're opening the door for more advanced techniques. And at the same time, you're developing top-of-mind awareness when they need a professional photographer. This might be the time of year labeled as the slow season in imaging - but it doesn't have to be slow when it comes to building your business!  People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Drew Chalker by Skip Cohen As usual with Sunday Morning Reflections, I rarely write about business and marketing. Most of the time, I don't know what to write about until I sit at the computer. But this morning, I knew exactly what the topic was going to be - the challenge of losing friends as we get older. I got word yesterday that the industry lost one of its very best, Simon Barnard, past president of Hasselblad UK and later Hasselblad Europe. We didn't see each other very often, but that didn't change the quality of our friendship or the conversation on each video call. Reading the quote above, Simon came into my life for a lifetime. He retired many years ago, but we stayed in touch through Skype and Facebook. We talked for an hour just before this past Christmas. Hearing Simon died was so unexpected that it sent me into a tailspin. I went through all five stages of grief in the first hour, then started the cycle all over again. Technology always comes through when I need it most. I didn't have an updated number for Simon and his wife, Anna, because we always connected via social media. But thanks to Facebook working the way it should, she and I connected for a long call. While it was filled with incredible sadness and disbelief, I shared The Adventures of Skip and Simon, and at one point, with both of us crying, we started laughing. Hollywood can't write stuff like the adventures we had! Simon and I first met at a worldwide Hasselblad distributor/subsidiary meeting in 1987. As an icebreaker, they gave us Viking costumes and took us on a Viking Blut. The beer and Aquavit flowed, and within an hour, close to hundred people became "best friends." That's Simon in the picture on the right, and it's the night our friendship kicked off. My favorite back-story is the shot of me, Colin Buck, and Simon in tuxedos. Having worked in the US many years before, Colin knew Simon and I were good friends and he was the chairman for an upcoming industry dinner. He called me and, in confidence, let me know Simon was receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 awards dinner for the Professional Photographers Association in the UK. He asked me to come over to help present Simon's award without him knowing. That meant that on arriving in England, I'd have to hide in my hotel room until dinner that evening. Off I went to the UK, and the way they did the presentation made it one of the most memorable events of my career. Simon's award/recognition was announced at the beginning of the dinner, and he was brought on stage. Colin announced, "Simon, one of your good friends from America, wants to congratulate you on this very special recognition." He and Simon turned to look at the big screen behind them, which had sound but nothing but static for the image. Supposedly, we were hooking up via Skype, but we had a few technical challenges. Colin said, "Skip, we've got Simon Barnard here, and I'm hoping, even though we can't seem to get a good image, we at least have audio!" Just off stage in the hallway with a microphone, I started talking to Simon. I congratulated him and added, "You might look more intelligent if you'd stop staring at a blank screen and just turn around." At that point, I was in the room, standing right behind him. We both teared up a little over the pure surprise of the moment. The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. Eric Hoffer Death ends a life, not a relationship. Dan McCullough Here's my point - we can't slow down our own aging process, let alone the aging of our friends and loved ones. Dealing with the death of a great friend, you find yourself running through the Memory Lane time warp. It's our memories that keep those special relationships alive, and our photographs have become proof of our ability to stop time and even turn back the clock, if only for minutes. Wishing everybody time today to appreciate those people you're closest to in your life. Take nothing for granted because we've got no control over when life can change. Whether shooting with a real camera or memory-based "neurochromes" - cherish every moment. All those special moments combined become the story of your life. And to Simon, who was my BFF long before the expression, buddy, you will be missed. But all the stories we'll share will keep your memory alive and the smile on my face. I'm forever grateful you were part of my life! Jodi Picoult's quote that I've used so many times is so appropriate: This is what I like about photographs. They're proof that once,
even if just for a heartbeat, everything was perfect.  A secret remains a secret until you make someone promise never to reveal it. Fausto Cercignani by Skip Cohen
I love it when somebody tells me, "I want to share something with you, but you've got to keep it just between us!" I smile and usually say, "If you're really uncomfortable, don't tell me, but be assured nothing ever gets passed on." I'm proud of the fact I've never passed any of those secrets on, but here's my point. To start, it's estimated that 68% of the world is on the Internet....that's almost six billion people. That means that just about everybody you know lives in both the analog world and has some level of involvement in social media. The access we have to each other today is virtually unlimited...making the old "grapevine" a super highway of information. If you have something private and it would hurt somebody to repeat it, keep your mouth shut and keep it confidential. Every time somebody tells me to "please keep it quiet," I'm probably the 100th person who's been told. Add to the number of people who already heard the big secret before me; we're in an industry notorious for being too inbred! By inbred, I'm referring to the fact that everybody I know has at least one other company under their belt before whatever they're doing now. Use my own experience as an example. I started working at Polaroid, then Hasselblad, followed by an Internet company and Rangefinder Publishing. At one point in the '80s, at least five people from my Polaroid days worked at Fujifilm. While at Hasselblad, I wound up on the Board of the Center for Creative Photography. Who was the chairman of the board? Peter Wensberg, past VP of Advertising at Polaroid. Now, take anybody you know in the industry who's got a big secret and decides it's safe to tell just a handful of isolated people. Often, the excuse is needing a "sounding board" to bounce off ideas. Within a day or two, hundreds might know about it, and even more damaging might be the consequences if word got out. It's like playing the stages of the Kevin Bacon game. Take anybody who's been around for more than ten years in photography, and I'm willing to bet you can connect them to almost anybody else in only three to four stages. The moral of the story is: Don't share your secrets unless you want them released. And the best way to spread the news in the industry is to just tell somebody, "Please don't tell anybody but…"  The bad news is time flies, the good news is you're the pilot Michael Altshuler  by Skip Cohen It's Throwback Thursday, my favorite day of the week, but rarely are my throwbacks tied to me personally. But, fifty-five years ago this week, I started my first day at Polaroid in Waltham, Massachusetts. I started at $2.89/hour. That was February 1970, and I remember Time Magazine having a cover shot of a college grad in cap and gown pumping gas. Jobs were hard to find and I had just moved to Boston. Little did I know what the future was going to bring. I spent 17 1/2 years at Polaroid and loved the company. I still laugh at those early days working in R&D wearing a white lab coat, a slide rule on my belt, and learning the chemistry side of emulsion development. It was a fantastic company, and I stayed there all those years because of the great people I worked for and with. And in terms of bosses - I was lucky - they all gave me enough rope to hang myself but pushed a chair underneath me if the rope got a little taut!  17 1/2 years at Polaroid - Time really does fly when you're having a good time! While I thought of myself as a member of the photographic industry, Polaroid was my training ground for everything from engineering to HR, Customer Service, Marketing, and Sales—even a few years of International when I traveled overseas every three weeks for over two years as the International Consumer Services Manager. In '87, I was the photo specialty dealer manager (all of Polaroid's camera stores) when I got a call from a headhunter who wanted to know if I knew anybody who wanted to be president of a small camera company. I thought it was a prank call and almost hung up. Three months later, I joined Hasselblad USA as president, and that's when my career in photography really started. From Hasselblad, to the Internet, to WPPI and Rangefinder Magazine, to starting my own company in 2009, the journey continues to be remarkable. I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people in photography, and it's all thanks to so many of you! The friendship and guidance of so many amazing people all along the way are responsible for the smile on my face—and in my heart right now! It's for me to believe so many years have passed since that first day at Polaroid. One day, you're 17 and you're planning for someday.
And then quietly, without you ever really noticing, someday is today. And then someday is yesterday. And this is your life. John Green  by Skip Cohen It's Hump Day, and I'm continuing with Business Breakthroughs, a series of tips to help make your message as a small business owner and artist stand out. I want to help you crush the chaos that gets in the way of the messages you send to your target audience. I'm always surprised by how many businesses, especially in imaging, don't spend a lot of time defining their target audience. How can you focus on the subject when you haven't paid attention to who the target is? It's like a maternity/newborn photographer opening a studio in a senior retirement village in Arizona! It's Time to Define Your Target Audience! Every day, we get emails and snail mail that aren't relevant. They go into our spam folders or if snail mail into the recycling bin. I remember Levin Furniture, which had a new discount offer every month when we lived in Akron. As a consumer, we were buried in analysis paralysis trying to determine the best deal on their prices. They were caught in what I call riptide marketing - unable to break free or change without a potential loss in business. That's at least part of the reason why I believe Bed, Bath, and Beyond is now in the past tense! So, let's come up with some ideas to help you get more targeted with your promotions:
There's no such thing as knowing too much about your target audience. There's a great line I've used for years, thanks to Ed Foreman, a motivational speaker from Texas: “If I can see the world through my client’s eyes, then I can sell my client what my client buys.” You've got to see the world through your client's eyes and understand what they're looking for. I heard Jerry Ghionis once talk about the secret to creating incredible images. The key is to photograph your subjects as if you were looking through the eyes of one of their loved ones.
Well, marketing is no different - you've got to know your client and see the world through their eyes!   by Skip Cohen It's the "slow season" and Marketing Monday, making it the perfect time to think about staying focused on each component of your business you hope to strengthen for the new year. As a photographer, the slow season is rapidly ramping down, but just because business is slow doesn't mean you should be. All of you know how to hold focus with a camera in your hands, but more of you need to focus on your business and set priorities. It's not an easy task; there is no AF button to hit. It's hard to stay focused on building a stronger business when you want so desperately to work directly with clients and bring in revenue. Plus, everyone has favorite projects that are a lot more fun to work on than the infrastructure of your business. Here are some tips to help you hold focus on what's most important:
 And when focus slips, take the time to sit down with that family member or associate that you're closest to. Who's your muse? For me, it's my wife Sheila, and so many times I've been stuck trying to find a solution to a challenge in my business, or even something more personal, and she always comes through. But she can't help if she doesn't understand my business - so for those of you who still insist on complete privacy - you need to consider opening up and sharing.
As I've written so many times - you can't create images that tug at people's heartstrings if your own heart isn't in it! The slow season has a particular purpose - utilize this time to find balance, appreciate your creativity, and define your goals for your definition of success in 2025 and beyond.  When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy." They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life. John Lennon  by Skip Cohen It's a typical Sunday morning, and Reflections is ALWAYS off the topic of marketing. I ran across the John Lennon quote above, and it's so relevant to my life today. Sure there have been a few emotional speed bumps along the way, and being happy has always been important, but I never thought of it as the key to life. Everyone thinks that wisdom comes with aging, but the truth is, wisdom is simply the result of lessons learned. And with many lessons, my internal navigation system, just like GPS on a wrong turn, needed to readjust the route to the goal. What makes looking back on my "routing" so interesting is that I never really thought of happiness as the ultimate goal. Many years ago, back in my Polaroid days, I met a motivational speaker, Ed Foreman. I remember him telling an anecdotal story, which I'm doing my best to paraphrase... A couple is talking about taking a great vacation, and the husband says, "Just wait until we get into our new house. We'll have so much fun." A few years later, they still hadn't taken that vacation, and he said, "Just wait until we get the kids out of the house and in college, then we'll really have fun." A few years later, it was, "Let's just get the wedding paid for, and we'll be able to relax and have fun." A few more years, it was, "As soon as I retire, we're going to have so much fun. Finally, he was in his casket on the way to his grave reflecting on his life when he thought, "Oh my God, I forgot to have fun!" Here's my point—take the time to look at your goals. Are they in line with all the things that make you happy? Do you recognize those moments of joy in your life, or do they get missed because you're overly focused on the wrong goal? Does happiness get put on the back burner, replaced by putting all your energy into building your brand, business, or something completely material? I'm not suggesting you give up your goals—just take the time to make sure they don't block whatever makes you smile, inside and out. Wishing everybody a day filled with things that make you happy. Take the time to think about the goals you're pursuing. Check to see if your internal GPS needs a little rerouting. All along the way, go for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs I always write about. Those special people on the other end of those hugs are the ones to help you find happiness, regardless of how obscure it might sometimes be. The bottom line - Don't forget to have fun! Happy Sunday...or Monday on the other side of the world. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do
than by the ones you did do. Mark Twain  Click to enlarge in the SCU Lightbox by Skip Cohen
It's my favorite day of the week...Throwback Thursday! While I posted this image many years ago, it's a classic and deserves to be shared again. Take some time looking at who's in the group. You should find a whole bunch of familiar characters, now "old-timers," including yours truly. For ten years, every year, usually in February, a group of photographers headed to Yellowstone with plenty of camera gear for three days of winter creativity and a whole lot of laughter! What started with just four of us, Duncan MacNab, Chris Kent, Bob Thompson, and me, became a decade of annual trips each winter with a good number of leaders from the photographic industry. On one trip, I think the one above, Duncan MacNab, who organized the trip every year, towed a gas grill on runners to Two Top. The Two Top Loop is one of the most famous snowmobile trails in America. It's 28 miles long and has spectacular views. Plus, the snow blows across the trees, forming snow/ice sculptures that look like something out of Hollywood. But just the view for our group wasn't enough. At the top, around 8,000 feet elevation, Duncan fired up the grill for cheeseburgers—even topped with grilled onion if you wanted. Imagine being at the top of a snow-covered mountain, buried in the silence of winter and below-zero temperatures, smelling burgers coming off a grill. Now and then, another group would come snowmobiling by and do a double-take at twenty+ people at a barbecue! One year, it was so cold that the Pepsi I was drinking turned to slush within minutes. You had to drink very carefully to avoid resembling the kid in Christmas Story with his tongue stuck to the flagpole. But there was good news—the Twinkies, loaded with preservatives, NEVER froze! While the fun of Throwback Thursday is in the images you find, it's a great marketing tool. Use throwback images to remind your readers/followers of the importance of photography and capturing those special memories. This is the perfect time of year to highlight old portraits and start planting the seed for an updated family portrait in the Spring.  by Skip Cohen Many years ago I launched a series called Fast Food Friday. The series was all about paying more attention to your business. Most of you are artists, right-brained creative types with a minimal interest in the operational side of the business. So, I set out to give you a new topic with each post to help you fine-tune your business and, in turn, help secure better results for the year. Well, it's time to update and bring back the series—only business has gotten much tougher. Trying to run a successful business today is about breaking through the noise bombarding your target audience. Welcome to Business Breakthroughs, a series of business tips to help make your message as a small business owner and artist stand out. I want to help you crush the chaos that gets in the way of the message you send to your target audience. It's the perfect topic for Hump Day in the slow season...slowing down procrastination! Procrastination is NOT a Skill Set! Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday! Don Marquis  We're a third of the way through the slow season, and many of you still think the marketing fairy will grant your wishes to build your business while you procrastinate!
You've turned procrastination into an art form. You're acting like there's no need to do anything because he'll clean up your website and blog, start building relationships, and even write up a few promotional ideas for the year ahead. NOT! However, the good news is you've got time to reinforce the foundation of your business for 2025 before things start to pick up. But, if you're not ready, it will be a you-snooze-you-lose scenario. You know how to focus your camera - now it's time to focus on your business and career.
No one blog post could ever cover everything you need to build a solid foundation for the year ahead, but I'm going to do my best in the weeks ahead to give you things to think about. Every business is different, and if the ideas I just shared above don't apply to you, take the time to be honest with yourself about what you're missing. This is one of the most competitive markets in the history of photography, and you've got to develop the ingredients to make yourself and your business different and better than your competitors. As I've written in the past, you can't create images that tug at people's heartstrings if your own heart isn't in them! You've got to take the time to focus on your business for 2025—you're the only one who knows what it's going to take to exceed client expectations and make yourself habit-forming! Last but not least, you know where to find me if you're stuck and need help!   by Skip Cohen Now and then, an opportunity comes along for a trip you shouldn't miss! Shiv Verma's been a good friend for a whole lot of years. The respect I have for Shiv all started with his skill set. I found that my photography skills went up a notch every time we hung out together. The only thing more impressive than Shiv's skills is his passion as an artist and his focus on education. And when I'm stuck on an imaging challenge of my own, he's at the top of the list for a call to help get me out of a jam. Well, Shiv has several of his own trips coming up, and he's got just three spots left for Tanzania from August 25 to September 2 of this year. It's all-inclusive, and I can assure you it's going to be top-shelf because Shiv never does anything halfway. I pulled a few of his images for this post because they're all from past Tanzania trips. However, to really appreciate what it's like to travel with Shiv, click on any image to visit his website and check out the specifics for this upcoming trip. "This is a peak season trip of a lifetime for up to 8, where you have only one photographer per row in the safari vehicles - all for a price that can't be beat. The annual migration in Tanzania is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This photo adventure is planned to give you the opportunity to photograph the world's largest concentration of elephants per square mile in Tarangire National Park and travel to the northern plains of the Serengeti via Ndutu. Ndutu is one of the few regions where off-road game drives are permitted. We will visit the Mara and Sand Rivers to witness and photograph the annual wildebeest migration. Game drives will take advantage of the awesome light of the dry season"...read more. We all catch lots of opportunities for photo adventures being promoted every day, but knowing Shiv as I do, if Tanzania is on your wish list - this is one not to be missed. Check out his 2025 schedule below and click on any of the dates to visit Shiv's website...Wherever he's headed, you can count on a life-changing experience with one of the industry's very best!   Click for more information on Shiv's travel and workshop schedule.  by Skip Cohen It's the slow season regarding incoming business, and many of you are spending more time online. Well, it's Marketing Monday, and while some of this post is from the SCU archives, everyone needs to pay attention to how to behave in any public forum. The challenge is not taking the bait in any of the battles that land on your Internet doorstep. When you're hunting elephants, don't get distracted chasing rabbits. T.Boone Pickens The written word is the toughest to interpret, especially when English isn't everybody's primary language on social media. Plus, you don't have the benefit of hearing the tone in somebody's voice, seeing their facial expression, and making eye contact. Whatever's been written is left to interpretation. Often, the author is labeled a troll when the issue is about poor communication. But then there are the real trolls, people who hide behind the anonymity of their computer screens and take shots at everything they can find. From direct issues like photo critiques to industry arguments over A.I. and on to politics, the economy, and the environment - there's no shortage of controversial topics to fight about. But if you take a troll on in a public forum, not only will you lose, but getting a rise out of you is precisely what they're after. You let them win simply by reacting. Here are a few things to remember the next time you decide to take on an actual troll:
Don't believe everything you read on the Internet! Abraham Lincoln
If you're wondering how in the world did I segue to trolls when it's Marketing Monday. Time is your most valuable commodity, and there's never enough of it. In the same way, you've learned the benefits of getting good images right out of the can, and to avoid wasting valuable time in post-processing, fighting battles with trolls and zombies are the same. Battles on the Internet only serve to drain your creativity and energy! Don't waste the time you should be using to build your brand. For most of you, YOU are your brand. Don't let a troll occupy your time fighting issues that don't matter. And when a troll criticizes your photographs in a public forum, remember that line from my old buddy Dean Collins. I've used it dozens of times here in the blog... Beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder!
Dean Collins  A.I. Image from Adobe Stock  Click above for more info by Skip Cohen It's Sunday morning, and it's the one time of the week I never write about marketing. Why? I like to share something outside of business because it's therapeutic. It's like a quick charge to prep for the new week ahead, and there are rarely boundaries I don't cross. I've mentioned a few times over the years how Sheila and I got in the habit of reading something motivational each morning. At the start of the year, we both pick a new daily meditation book and read the thought for the day over breakfast. Well, it's a new year, and my book for 2025 is a Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Daily Stoic. Thanks to two great authors and some of the world's greatest minds, there's a lot of practical wisdom. One of my favorites is the author's interpretation of a statement made by the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius...currently "alive and well" in Gladiator II.LOL "The more things we desire and the more we have to do to earn or attain those achievements, the less we actually enjoy our lives, the less free we are." For years, I measured my success by my W-2. My happiness seemed to be based on my earnings, but something was missing: I wasn't always enjoying my life. My priorities were all about accumulated things. Over the past several months two major Florida hurricanes, their horrific devastation, followed by the California fires, literally starting in my old neighborhood, Pacific Palisades, have led to a lot of time assessing what's really important in my life. Like many of you, each disaster has contributed to a series of what-would-we-do conversations, each time helping to enforce and clarify our priorities. It's a hypothetical lifeboat drill about what's most important in our lives. Nothing would stop the heartbreak of how we'd feel if we lost everything, but our definition of everything has changed. Here's my point—my definition of happiness these days starts with waking up with a smile, followed by my health and a clear vision of the day ahead. That vision is dominated by Sheila and two outrageous pups, close family, and good, good friends. The use of two "goods" is intentional, not a typo!  It's about clarity, which is also the title of this first section of The Daily Stoic. Over the years, I've met so many photographers who spend so much time focusing on their monthly billing that they miss the pure joy of helping a client capture a memory. They don't seem to really enjoy their lives as much as they could.
Don't get me wrong—I'm not suggesting anyone abandon their goals to earn a decent living; I'm just saying that focusing on the bottomline alone will lead to a lonely, shallow existence. Years ago, Clay Blackmore was teaching a workshop, and he talked about the importance of giving back. I'm paraphrasing, but he wanted to remind everybody that if they'd just focus more on giving back, all the rest of their success would fall into place. Wishing everybody a day ahead that's filled with things that make you smile and your heart sing. As sappy as that sounds, take a second and think about the people in your life who do that and the incredible memories you have, thanks to them. Always go for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs I write with those people who aren't just responsible for helping you achieve your dreams but helping you live them. Happy Sunday...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world.   The "Friends Wall" in our back hallway While this is a throwback of a throwback, I first shared the rant below almost ten years ago. It was sent to me by a buddy, Jim Jernigan, who's long since passed away. But it's so appropriate, especially right now. While it's slightly off the topic, but still in line with how life has changed over the years, I'm so tired of seeing families at dinner in a restaurant and everybody on their phones! A few years back, we were with Michele Celentano and Paul at their house. Michele had a rule in the kitchen - NO PHONES! Out of visits with great friends come terrific memories. The picture of all of us together above is from that same trip. It's what started our friend's wall, which I've written about before. If you haven't taken the time for a quick look in your rearview mirror yet today, grab a coffee and look back. While we can't go back, we can appreciate how far we've come. Most of the time, the journey forward has been for the better, but I can't deny I miss looking back to a time that was so less complicated. Happy Throwback Thursday! "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
Jay Leno TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930s, '40s, '50s,'60s and '70s!! First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads. As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes. Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar and we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing...that's why! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day--And, we were OKAY. We would spend hours building our go-carts out Of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes...after running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.. We did not have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from those accidents. We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand. And no one would call Child Services to report abuse. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, 22 rifles for our 12th, rode horses, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and although we were told it would happen- we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors ever. The past 50 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas...We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. If YOU are one of those born between 1925-1970, CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good. While you are at it, forward it to your kids, so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?  "If it weren't for change there'd be no butterflies!" Unknown Author by Skip Cohen It's January 21, and I'm betting most of you are still not back in the groove and are running in low gear. There's no sense of urgency. After all, it's the "slow season," and you've rationalized your right to procrastinate just a little longer. Sound familiar? Most of us go through the same process every year - We think about the previous year, set goals for the new year, and then kick back for as long as we can...just to recharge a little longer. Too often, we think we need to make significant changes in the new year, but the truth is what most businesses need most is more consistency in all aspects of quality - not just what they deliver but how they market, communicate, and interact with their target audience. Maybe everything was done right last year, but you need to expand to a broader audience and offer more diverse products/services this year. Perhaps the product line is fine, but you need to find more ways to reach your target audience. Let's make 2025 the year to maximize potential... We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential. Ellen Goodman This isn't meant to be a long post. I just want to plant the seed of an idea to think things through before you jump back into expanding and building. What if you changed virtually NOTHING over the next week or two except making a few additions? For example, utilize a few of the ideas shared in my last post about building more strength into your business during the slow season.
Here's my point - every year is a struggle to grow your business. Some years growth is faster than others, but overall it's the same process. Maybe you need to pat yourself on the back and take the time to creatively chill. Recharge your battery while you look for potential areas for growth, diversity, and increased brand awareness. You don't have to be at a standstill, just take the time to think things through. There's a lot of optimism for the new year, in spite of the horrific challenges Mother Nature is adding to our lives. So enjoy a little optimism and thoughts about making 2025 one of your best years yet.  When you are up to your ass in alligators it's difficult to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp! Anon by Skip Cohen It's Marketing Monday! Here are ten ideas to help you make the most of this time when business is down. In most parts of the country, January is considered the "slow season" in imaging. But just because business isn't bursting through your door doesn't mean you don't have plenty you should be doing.
But none of the above happen by themselves. It's up to you to open the door and get started. And if you're a little overwhelmed in the beginning at trying to improve things in your business, don't let the alligators scare you. The longer you wait to be proactive, the bigger the swamp! The good news is that every challenge you'll face and resolve is another brick in the foundation you're building for the new year! If you wait for all the lights to turn green, you'll never get started on your journey.
Zig Ziglar  Surround yourself with people who fight for you in rooms you're not in. by Skip Cohen It's Sunday, my day to simply run amok miles away from writing about business and marketing. As I've shared in the past, there are therapeutic qualities to hitting a topic other than what I write about all week long. Sitting down at my computer this morning, I wanted to write about friendships. It's not a new topic, but this past week, I had some very special conversations with a few different friends, both old and new. Then, as I was wandering through Facebook, the quote above by a new friend, Brittany Jennings, came up. And there it was, the foundation for two things I wanted to write about—great friends and Facebook. Starting with Facebook, while everyone I know has a love/hate relationship with "Team Zuckerberg," it's hard to deny that FB is sometimes the mortar that keeps all the bricks together. It's become my best way to stay in touch with old friends and new ones. From birthdays to everyone's safety and everything in between, I'm able to keep in touch with people I've known my entire life. FB makes the world a tiny place. While Facebook is a key tool for staying connected, it's the foundation of friendship that makes the investment in being in touch so beneficial. I've written a lot about the photographic industry and how we all watch each other's backs. While the industry can sometimes be like a dysfunctional family on Shameless, everyone's hearts are in the right place. Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. Oprah Winfrey It's hard to write about great friends and not get sappy, but it's thanks to some special people whose inspiration and guidance help keep me focused. At a time when most people my age have retired, I still wake up with the enthusiasm of a kid on his first day on a new job. It's those special people who have helped me redefine success and purpose. The fun of it all is that while we often lose touch, the connection never goes away, and neither do the laughs and the stories when we cross paths next. Here's my point—we all have days when we feel alone, dealing with whatever challenges life throws our way. But it's our friends who help us navigate through the tough stuff as well as celebrate our accomplishments. And the best thing about still being active in photography, my new role in the fight against Alzheimer's, and social media is all about friendships—old, new, and yet to evolve. Wishing everybody a weekend with time for family and friends. Just for the fun of it, think about one old friend and one new one - then think about how they came into your life. I'm betting there will be some great backstories that put a smile on your face that lasts all day long. We've got a sign on a wall here at home of photographs of friends over the years: Angels exist, but sometimes they don't have wings and are called friends. Happy Sunday, or Monday if you're on the other side of the world.
PS And to Brittany - thanks for sharing that quote!  A.I. Image from Adobe Stock by Skip Cohen With my involvement in the Memory Care Alliance here in Sarasota, I want to start sharing more information about this horrible disease. My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all died of Alzheimer's. Being tested for the disease myself a few months ago (which showed no signs) led to me working on a project with one of medicine's leading neurologists. While Alzheimer's has nothing to do with the business and marketing of photography, over the years, it's remarkable how anybody I talk to seems to have been touched by the disease. Unlike the Kevin Bacon three degrees of separation game, most often, it's just one degree of separation to Alzheimer's with most people. Wearing the hat of "Director" for the Memory Care Alliance, I want to share more information on this horrible disease to help increase awareness. I've seen numbers that estimate by 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer's will rise to thirteen million. The main goal of the Alliance is to become a network of companies working to provide the best quality of support for Alzheimer's patients, their families, and caregivers. With my mother, as Alzheimer's took a greater hold, one of the most fun things we could do with her was to pull out old photographs. She wouldn't remember what she had for breakfast, but she could name every sorority sister from Ohio State! With each face she recognized, the backstories would start to flow. It was as if the events happened the day before, not sixty years earlier. Here's my point today - take more pictures! Don't just leave them on a card or your phone forever. Photography is about capturing memories, lots of them. They don't have to be milestone events and show-stoppers - but the more, the better. Put on the hat of the family historian. If you have kids, when you are with family and friends, give them assignments as if they were photojournalists. And with senior members of your family, set up your phone or camera on video and capture the stories of their lives while they're still here. With the weekend approaching, don't wait to start building or organizing your personal imaging archives. Capture memories now—they'll become priceless in the years ahead. To put the seriousness of the disease in even more perspective, check out the one-minute video from the Alzheimer's Association below.  Bob Nunn ( Sales Manager for Hasselblad USA), Bengt Forssbaeck (Worldwide Director of Marketing for Hasselblad from Sweden), the next two gentlemen were with the Swedish Embassy or Chamber of Commerce, me, Al Zimmerman (VP of Hasselblad USA) and Goran Bernhoff (Worldwide President of Hasselblad).  by Skip Cohen
It's Throwback Thursday, and I'm always surprised at what I find in drawers, boxes, files, and jump drives when attempting to clean my office. It's a never-ending process. I'm sure I shared these long ago, but there's no expiration date on the fun of trips down Memory Lane. In 1998, Hasselblad USA was named the Best Swedish Company in America. It was indeed an honor. Going back to the 90s, there was so much the US company was doing to support the professional and serious hobbyist photographic community. It was an exciting time that included many of the imaging legends. We all look back at times and discuss how much technology has changed. Well, business is no different. One aspect of the fun of Throwback Thursday is the memories that old photographs bring back related to how we did business. Prior to '98, we were still using fax machines; the Internet was ramping up, but nothing like we have today; there was mail-order, but most transactions started with a phone call to a toll-free 800 number, which was a big deal. And everyone had a "Rolodex" of business contacts. Social media hadn't taken off for the masses just yet, and AOL was the primary platform. I used to wander into Kodak's Daguerre's Chat Room late on Saturday nights, as professional photographers would stop by and talk about whatever event they just photographed. It was like an episode of Cheers - with so many of us knowing each other outside the Internet and being regular visitors. Get started today if you're not in the habit of hunting down a throwback image once a week. You'll find those old photographs bring back some great memories and reinforce the value of photography even more. And don't be afraid of sounding like an old fart when you tell a younger associate how you used to do business. The Internet and social media changed how we market, communicate, and stay in touch. It also gave the average consumer a level of reach that only small magazines had thirty years ago. It made the importance of great service even more dominant. Happy Throwback Thursday! |
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