Sunday Morning Reflections - A Little of Everything

Over the last few years, I've written 2000+ posts, done a few hundred podcasts both short and long and spoken at a few dozen conventions and workshops. However, very little compares with the enjoyment of writing Sunday Morning Reflections, and as I sat down a few minutes ago to write, I realized why.

In a number of those posts, podcasts, and workshops the topic has been special projects and their importance to every artist. Special projects are the fuel to keep your creativity alive. Special projects allow you to stray from the day-in-day-out challenges of running a business and do whatever you want. You become the client and fulfilling the vision in your mind's eye becomes the motivation.

Well, at some point in my life my career morphed into that of a writer. My primary focus is helping you build a stronger business, but on Sunday mornings, I just free-fall never knowing for sure where I'm going to land. Just like many of you create a special project where you step outside the rules of composition and exposure, I do the same with whatever I'm writing.

This morning's post is dedicated to my good friend Taka and the benefit of the Internet. Taka lives in Japan. We first met when he was the V.P. of Asukabook and primarily a client coming to WPPI each year. We'd always get out to dinner together at least once. There has always been this bond of friendship, even though we never caught up to each other more than 1-2 times a year.

Today with me being in my own business and living in Florida and Taka being retired, thanks to the Internet our friendship is stronger than ever. We email back and forth. We've Skyped a few times, and a few years ago on Sunday mornings, I was helping his son practice English. I'd wander around the house with my iPad, and we'd go back and forth on the names of things I pointed to.

---

Why talk about Taka this morning? The first thing I do every day is check email, and there was a short message from Taka about something he's sending me. His email got me thinking about the important role the Internet has played in our friendship, and then morphed into my bucket list and my hopes to get us to Japan in 2018. 

Taka was on my mind earlier in the week when I discovered a treasure of images in my old Shutterfly galleries, all going back to the start of digital and a $299 point and shoot digital that came on every trip, including several to Japan.

There are several points of focus this morning. It's a "Sunday brunch" and you can pick whatever makes the most sense to your situation.
​

• Appreciate the importance of special projects and how they help you stay focused on the passion you have for the craft. Step away from your "job" now and then and shoot for your most important client - YOU!
• Don't just use the Internet to get the news every day - use it to create your own news! Keep in touch with people who are special to you. The seeds of friendship don't just sprout on their own - they need to be fertilized with communication.
• Never let go of your Bucket List!  Every so often review it and add or delete as necessary, but Bucket Lists are filled with dreams, and while they can be revised, they should never disappear.
• Stop thinking your creativity is limited to how good your gear is! That image at the top was captured on that $299 point and shoot and is printed on canvas as a 24x48 inch print on our living room wall. It was captured at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo...and again, all thanks to seeing the city with Taka.

And that winds up one of my more bizarre Sunday Morning Reflections' posts. It's a brunch buffet, but no buffet comes with a stronger wish for a terrific day, holiday weekend if you're in the US and time with those people most special in your life! Always hit the eleven-second hugs and if you need some time off away from the business then take it!

Happy Sunday everybody - thanks for being here!