Sunday Morning Reflections - Risks, Change and Growth

If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor!
Neil Simon

A Monarch chrysalis, about five days before hatching

by Skip Cohen
 
As usual, on Sundays, I'm miles away from thoughts about business and marketing. My challenge is trying to connect a couple of different topics with how we've watched our butterfly population grow.

This year our garden has taken off, especially with Monarchs. Monarch caterpillars are everywhere we've planted milkweed - their nonstop favorite meal! Watching them grow and realizing within the next few weeks, we'll have a few dozen new monarchs is incredibly uplifting.

I couldn't help but think about that line, "If it wasn't for change, there would be no butterflies!" So there it is, my topic for today's post.

I started by grabbing my LUMIX G9 with the 30mm macro lens and headed out looking for "talent" to feature this morning. I found the two guys above right outside our patio. They're just about fully developed, being almost 2 inches long. Soon they'll morph into a chrysalis, and 10-12 days after that, there'll be a couple of new monarchs.

But I want to tie in the changes I've watched in the butterfly world to what's going on in our industry. I found myself thinking about the way the pandemic has had an impact on all of our lives. I've found myself just in much awe of people working hard to rebuild business lost over the previous year, as I am of photographers caught in analysis paralysis.

In a way, we've all become caterpillars, working to evolve into something different, and it's not without risks. Plus, everyone has to rebuild at their own pace, some taking longer than others to develop a game plan.

Growth only occurs outside your comfort zone. Now more than ever, it's time to reinvent yourself, starting with your outlook on the future. You can't develop that outlook and plan without kicking back and daydreaming a little - thinking about what you want your voice to represent. ​

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You and you alone are the only person who can live the life that writes the story that you were meant to tell. And the world needs your story because the world needs your voice.
Kerry Washington

Wishing everybody a day filled with family, time to think about the future, and a little relaxation so that on Monday morning you hit the ground running - ready to keep rebuilding, take a few risks and shoot for the moon!

Happy Sunday or Monday if you're on the other side of the world.