We're All Connected

by Skip Cohen

Sunday Morning Reflections are all about me running amuck on topics other than business and marketing in imaging. I often wake up with an idea in my head and start typing. But this morning, I had too much on my mind, and unlike the gear we all use, selective focus wasn't working!

I went to Facebook and just started scrolling on the notification page. Looking for inspiration, I found posts by Wes Simpson, Tony Corbell, Glen Clark, Pepper Nix, Erik Cooper, Jim Garner, Carly Sullens, Michael Anthony, Melisa Albert, Deja Webster, Brent Watkins, and both Joe and Sheila Elario. The more I scrolled, the more friends I ran into.

Nothing compares with a great convention where you literally bump into old and new friends, but scrolling through Facebook just brought an outrageously stupid Alfred E. Neuman smile to my face. It was like playing the Kevin Bacon degrees of separation game. I was the link, or more appropriately, Facebook was.

And here's my point, while the outside world often thinks of our industry as massive, with millions of professional artists and photographers, the truth is it's relatively small. Even more relevant is that we're all connected in our love for the craft. Sure, there are a few hockey pucks among us, but if we weren't just a little dysfunctional, we wouldn't be a family!

So, on those days when you might feel a little disconnected, take a scroll through cyberspace, and whether Facebook or Instagram or just your favorite manufacturer's blog posts, check out what everyone is working on. I guarantee ten minutes of scrolling through images; you'll feel inspired and, if nothing else, just smile about the career you chose.

I've spent my entire adult life in this industry, and at a time when most people my age have retired, I'm just not ready to slow down. I love it too much - and there are still so many of you to meet and get to know. 

Wishing everybody a day ahead with time to appreciate your friends in the industry. Things are slowly returning to normal, and with normalcy comes more contact and time to cherish the role we play in each other's lives. Go for those eleven-second hugs, with or without a mask - appreciate your bond with whoever's on the other end of that hug.
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Happy Sunday...or Monday on the other side of the world!

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