Self-Esteem - Time to GET SOME!

© waldemarus

Intro by Skip Cohen

It would be so easy if we just had a gauge to monitor our self-esteem, and a dial to turn, like setting the temperature on a thermostat!

Sadly there are negative things that happen in our lives we barely catch. We weather little storms every day and never notice the accumulation of damage. Then one day we get an overwhelming concern for not achieving a goal and start worrying about failure.

My good buddy Scott Bourne shares some terrific insight into things to do to build your confidence and in turn your self-esteem. This post may be out of the archives, but the topic is so relevant for many of you.

We're coming up to the fourth quarter and some terrific seasonality in photography, but you won't be ready for it if you're not confident and comfortable trusting what you feel in your heart. You can't create images that tug at people's heartstrings if your own heart isn't in it!

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by Scott Bourne

One Of The Things Pro Photographers Need, But Cannot Buy Is Self-Esteem!

When we are starting out as professional photographers, we believe that buying the right camera, lens and lighting kit, will make us a hit. Oh if only it were that easy. There are so many things we need to succeed that we cannot buy. One of them is self-esteem.

In my travels to various photo workshops, conferences and conventions, I am often struck by just how low the self-esteem of some emerging professional photographers has gone. They listen to great teaching and advice and then go out of their way to describe why that won't work in their case.

Self-esteem is very important in ANY business, let alone one where you are the boss and it's a creative endeavor. 

It's easy to build your self esteem. Start by removing negative influences from your life. For instance, never, ever, ever read YouTube/Facebook comments. There - you're already on the road to a better life. While I am of course kidding, you get the drift. Negative people, places, things, habits, etc will drag you down so remove yourself from them NOW. Not next week. Today! 

Another step toward building self-esteem is taking stock of your positive attributes. Make a list and read it aloud to yourself every day. Replace the negative stuff with positive stuff. Believe it or not this will improve your photography dramatically. It will also improve your business. 

And if me saying this doesn't influence you, maybe Ghandi will. He understood that self-esteem is valuable.

"Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Be like Gandhi. Expect good things to happen. Or as my dad used to put it. . ."Be too stupid to know you can fail." 

Go ahead. I'm rooting for you!