The "Ten Year Game" in Photography, Business and Life

© Stillfx

I woke up this morning and went through the usual Sunday morning routine of thinking about something to write about. Several times in the last few days I've looked around my office and our home, doing these little inventories of life like we all do, and said to Sheila, "How did we get here?"  Then wandering through Facebook a lot of friends seem to be playing the "Ten Year Game," putting up their first headshot for Facebook with today's.

Well, it suddenly hit me, in one of those OMG-cartoon-character-moments with the imaginary lightbulb going off above my head it's ten years ago this April I resigned from Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI to head out on my own. Why I left is no longer relevant. I look back on that time in my life as one of those "Ah-Ha" moments when I made the right decision. I'm grateful to so many people who helped me realize the dream of my own business; stuck by me through some scary times and all along the way became a part of the fabric of my life - which seems to be a never-ending tapestry that's always changing.

Rather than take a nostalgic look back, I'm more excited about looking forward. After all, through several thousand posts over the last ten years, I've shared just about everything that's happened in my life. It's more fun to look ahead and here are handful of examples:

• If you didn't read the post two months ago, I resigned from my consulting role with Excire Inc effective December 31, 2018. While it came with a lofty title of "president." It was draining trying to get them to understand how different the US photographic market is from Germany.  
• Chamira Young is getting more involved with SCU. She's a remarkable photographer with a level of creativity, enthusiasm, and diversity in her skill set second to none. Stay tuned because we're going to be making some significant changes here in the blog, adding a new podcast and finding new ways to help you build a stronger business.
• I'm back to speaking and teaching more in 2019. The year kicked off this past week joining Scott Kelby on The Grid; I'll be presenting in the Panasonic booth at WPPI; teaching at ShutterFest in April; teaching at ClickCon in August and SCU is working together to bring you more helpful content from educational resources like The SLR Lounge.
• Mirrorless technology and Panasonic's family of LUMIX cameras have entirely revitalized my love for life with a camera in my hands. I'm shooting more than ever before, and every day I'm learning another lesson I missed along the way, too often in "P" mode. And, with Skylum's Luminar 3 I'm doing more in post-processing. I'm reminded with every click of the shutter that growth only happens outside your comfort zone.

In looking ahead, there's one last major point that's changing, which started a year or two ago. As I look back, it has a lot to do with aging and time. I'm at a point in my life where I realize every day how fast the hands on the clock are spinning. It has a lot to do with looking at your life and seeing less time ahead than the decades behind.

I want to waste less time in the new year. I'm tired of not getting quality time with good friends. I'm tired of people I care about being out of touch. A couple of weeks ago I got a call from Claude Jodoin, which he referred to as his "annual catch up to Skip" call. It was great, as we covered what's going on in both of our lives, talked a little about the past, our old buddy Dean Collins always comes up, and just reminded each other we're both still passionate about the craft and our friendship.
 
And there you have it - It's time to make my point. While I love looking in that rearview mirror and the comparisons everybody is doing on Facebook with their headshots - it's more fun to think about what your next ten years are going to be like, starting with 2019. What do you want to do this year to make it different than last year? How are you going to find more time for friends, stay focused on growing your business and bring more quality into your life? What's truly important to you this morning?

Wishing everybody a day ahead filled with optimism and time to appreciate where you're going in the new year more than where you've been. Hug those special people in your life for the full therapeutic eleven-seconds and remember they're a key to your goals for the future. Take the time to appreciate how shallow life would be without them, and then focus on how important they are going forward.

We can't stop time or even slow it down, but we all can create more impact and a life that adds more smiles and laughs than frowns and tears. There's a great line Dr. Phil is credited for, "Would you rather be happy or right?" In this new year, it's more important for me to go bounding out of bed in the morning with a smile on my face than a frown and thinking about the stress of the day ahead. While stress is inevitable as a business owner, you can still work in a stress-free zone as long as you stay focused on things that make you happy.

Anybody want to join me?

Ten years from now you'll laugh about whatever's stressing you out today. So why not laugh now?
Tony Robbins

Wishing everybody a terrific Sunday...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world!