If You Are Not Willing, Nothing Can Help You. If You Are, Nothing Can Stop You.
Imagine all that power in one little aspect of our lives.
Good morning, folks. Here we are at the second weekend of the year. We think we have finally sold our house, so we begin construction on the new home on February 1. Exciting, but stressful as well.
All of the photographs are from the Sonoran Desert around our home.
Today I want to talk about willngness and how important it really is to our success.
In nearly every endeavor.
See, here’s the thing.
Every day I see ads on Facebook and Instagram and blogs and social media everywhere… “Do This and Get (some exciting result)”.
“Start an AI Agency.”
”Chair Yoga for a New You in 22 Days.”
”Gain 30,000 followers with this one weird trick.”
”19 Ways to Make Kale Yummy.”
Most of it is bullshit. In fact, the vast majority of it is bullshit.
The fresh from the cow kind that occasionally wafts in from the stockyards.
If you know, you know.
They are selling tools, devices, ebooks… the implementation ideas and structures that are easy to create, implement, and understand.
And we buy them. Billions of dollars worth of "Part A” are purchased by people who think that will be the thing they need. They’ve got the secret now, baby.
“With this cool $29.95 Ebook on how to create a sustainable creative business, I am ready to kick some major ass, get filthy rich, buy a Lambo, and show my ex that I am beyond successful.”
You go, bruh.
I wish you luck.
You’re gonna need it.
But if I were a betting man, I would be against you in a heartbeat.
Ask me if I think you are going to fail.
“Hey Don, you think I got this?”
“No.”
Here’s why.
First, you are naive enough to think that success can be found in a $29.95 E-book from a guy who sells them on Facebook.
“Hi, I’m Elon Musk. I was a loser working in a fast food restaurant before I splurged $10 on this cool ebook I got on MySpace and it turned my life around.”
Yeah, $10. Things were cheaper back then.
You really think that is how it happened?
If you do, you are already behind the game a bit because you are looking for a fast win, a quick slap up the ladder, a silver bullet for success, a… you get it.
That view of success is one that will have to change really fast because it is simply unreasonable and shows no understanding of what is to come.
Even if you do finish reading the entire 62-page e-book.
(I’ll bet against that one as well.)
You see, you haven’t asked yourself the most important question.
“What am I willing to do to create success?”
That is the big tuna right there, my friends.
Because what you are willing to do and willing to not do are the determinators for your success - or even an attempt at success.
Yes, you can get a template for your marketing program, practically done for you.
But… are you willing to do it? Are you willing to take the time to send the Tweets, or the LinkedIn posts, or the emails? Are you?
Really, that is the question.
To do what is needed takes time, and time is what we choose to spend on what we want to do at the time we are doing it.
Are you willing to give up 30 minutes of something else to do your daily marketing?
What if I told you it would take about 30 days to see results?
What if I told you it could take half that?
What if I told you that without committing and doing the work, you would be sitting right here in the same position that you are in thirty days from now?
What if I told you that, in order to see small results, you have to take medium action?
To see large results, it would require even larger action.
And to see massive results, it takes massive action.
Massive f’n action.
But first, what are you willing to commit to?
What are you willing to not do in that thirty-minute slot?
Cause it is up to you. All of it.
It’s not your portfolio or your business card or your logo or your color pallet or your copywriting skills or your age or your ethnicity or your gender or your ability to speak in public.
It really isn’t any of those things.
It is totally up to what you are willing to do.
Now.
Tomorrow.
A week from Thursday.
April 3rd.
2025.
For a long time, I blamed choices, but I realized that choices alone weren’t the culprit. We make choices every day, and I do believe the choices we make determine where we are and where we are going to go.
But I now realize that you must be willing to make different choices before anything worth noting happens.
I see all these ads about how you can become super successful and make millions of dollars doing something like this thing, that service, or whatever. Only working 5 hours a week.
In pajamas.
Drunk.
I do not doubt that some people have.
But I don’t know them.
I know the ones that have made it huge: Gates, Musk, Bezos, Chappele, Avedon, Prince, the guy who invented Pickle Ball. He got rich, right? C’mon, man - he had to have made some scratch.
I imagine that’s quite a diverse group of people there.
I do not know what each of them did at the macro level to achieve the levels of success that they did.
But I do know what they all have in common.
They were willing.
They are all willing to do what it takes to achieve that level of success and income.
And no, it probably is not found in a $34.95 E-book. (Inflation)
The ideas may be there, but the willingness is not.
Are you willing to work 60-80 hours a week?
You may not have to, but are you willing to?
Are you willing to not be a good father or mother to become a millionaire? That is not necessarily the outcome, but you have to be willing to risk it, right?
Are you willing to have your nose to the grindstone for years and decades to achieve that level of success? Cause often it takes that, you know. Perhaps you hit it big right away, but are you willing to commit to the long haul?
Are you willing to risk everything on the whims of Wall Street or interest rates controlled by idiots? One day you may have to make a terrifically difficult financial decision… one that could have ramifications for your family and more - are you willing to even put yourself in that position?
All of that and a ton more is what it takes to get to that level, in many cases.
We read about the ones that got lucky (man bites dog), but we rarely hear about the ones where they kicked and clawed and fought for every inch. That’s dog bites man, man.
BTW, I do know some very successful photographers (Gasp… in this economy, Don? Yepperoo, my little invisible editorial friend, they are. Some had their best year ever last year).
And others… well, not so much.
A couple of years ago, I worked with a talented photographer. Very talented.
He had the chops, he had the vision.
He had also decided he was not willing to do even the smallest amount of pushing. He had an excuse for everything I suggested. It was not going to happen; everything was against him, and he was not willing to confront those beliefs at all.
Just not willing.
And, you know, that is totally fine. There is no problem but the disconnect between your goals and your ability to get there. Fix the disconnect, and be happier while carrying less stress.
If you are not willing to do - and not do - the things that you must, there is literally nothing that can be done to circumvent this giant wall before you.
You just aren’t willing.
Willing.
That’s the word of the day.
Hell, that’s the word of tomorrow, kids.
Willing.
What are you willing to do?
What are you willing to not do?
Make a list.
Make a poster.
Put it where you can see it every day.
Do all of the things that self-help people claim will work.
Why not?
Can’t hurt.
Are you willing to even give that a try?
See…
That’s the thing, isn’t it?
I don’t know where the world is headed. I am beyond amazed that we find ourselves here in these crazy times with almost no idea of how we got here.
But I do know that if you want to change your life, where you are artistically, financially, and in your relationships of any kind, you must be willing to do what you know must be done to see results.
Chanting won’t do it.
Meditating won’t do it.
Writing in a journal won’t do it.
TikTok confessions won’t do it.
Buying more courses, e-books, programs, cameras, or logos won’t do it.
Action is the only way.
And to create an action, you must be willing to do so.
Take pen and paper and ask yourself this simple question.
What am I willing to do?
Your answer may give you the clearest indicator of your 2024 that I could imagine.
Thanks, everyone.
It has been a blast so far on this here Substack thing. Thank you so much for your support. I adore each and every one of you wonderful subscribers. Grateful in so many ways.
See you in a couple of days.
When you are ready, here is how I can help you succeed.
Group Mentorship: a small group of photographers who meet to show images, work on their portfolio, and build their businesses with help from a wonderful group. Lifetime membership for one fee.
One-on-one Mentorship: You and me - working together in an intense 6-month push to get you on the way to over $30K in additional revenue. The work we lay down will help you increase and scale your business for years ahead.
The Creative Class: Expand your toolset and become a one-person visual agency capable of pulling in steady and repeated income. If you have questions, let me know, and I will answer them as fast as possible.
Discount codes for In the Framers:
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"In this economy?".
I'm 36 years old, born and living in a country with perpetual economic and social crisis.
I have not seen a single period of true stability and proper conditions through my whole lifetime. Yet people still do business, have kids, some even make piles of money.
If you are waiting for the perfect situation to take action and do what you want to do, you will end up doing nothing, as such conditions do not exist.
The real challenge is acting through improper conditions and still get results, even if not perfect. Or, as you say, willing.
Thanks for the read, Don!
Don very insightful read and a lot to digest. Now it is time for me to answer what am I willing and not willing to do. Thank you.