Sunday Morning Reflections: It Ain't About Luck

I found the perfect quote for a Sunday morning from business author,
Jim Collins:


"Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline."

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So here's what prompted that thought this morning. The WPPI convention pretty much starts today and thousands of you are going to be in and out of platform programs and workshops with some of the finest photographers in our industry. You're going to see image after image that simply makes you say, "Wow!"  You'll see magazine cover shots, prints in the various booths and images in dozens of presentations.

Without question some of you will mumble to yourself or say out loud, "That photographer is so lucky!" Then you're going to kick back and wonder when your ship is finally going to come in.

Well, here's the wake up call for today:  Luck had little or nothing to do with a single image or situation you might find yourself coveting. Maybe here and there somebody hit it lucky, but odds are it was at the slot machines, NOT in their careers. This is about hard work, discipline, passion and a goal to simply be the best.

So, my message this morning is to appreciate every image you see or event you hear about with a "Wow, they've worked hard!"

To Jim Collins' point in his quote, nothing trumps good conscious decisions and discipline! Oh yeah, and when you do make mistakes, get over it. It's not the end of the world. There's no such thing as failure as long as you move on and learn from the experience!

See you in Vegas!