What Do You Need To Do for A Year of Success? And a Few Photos From Along the Road.
It's all about perspective and engagement.
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It’s here.
The new year.
The new opportunity.
The renewal days.
Sometimes they last for a few weeks, then we fall back into the funk of what we have been doing all the while.
And we complain about it.
We keep doing what we did and getting what we got.
And wait for January 2026… that’ll be the year things change.
Yeah man, wait until next year. I’ll have all my ducks in a row, then, man.
Just wait.
Psss… I ain’t betting on it, pal.
You see, the date is no big deal.
Does the universe give a damn about the calendar?
I think not.
It never did and it never will.
The calendar is a tool, but if you think about it hard enough you realize it is a subtle form of the newly minted word; “disinformation”.
(BTW, I kinda discount anyone who uses that word, since it is illogical and indecipherable. I choose to live in the real world. The same goes for “bro”, but for other reasons.)
The calendar shows us what we have to look forward to.
My birthday is on a Friday this year. So is Valentine’s Day.
There will be five Wednesdays in April.
Really?
The reality is that those are plans that may - or may not - happen.
And we look at those dates and we think, “Yeah, we got time…”
One day you wake up, and you don’t.
Have that much time, that is.
You can delude yourself into thinking that time is ignoring you, but time is one of the most cruel masters of our lives.
I know.
I have wasted so much of my life on things that are/where inconsequential that it makes me feel used up.
What would we do if we could get back all of the time we spent watching unreal people do unreal things on TV? What value did that time investment bring us?
Can we spend it?
Can we invest it?
Can we recall it and learn something about tomorrow from it?
Nope.
That boat has sailed, them horses done skedaddled, the barn was torn down, and they built a mini-mall there with a drive-thru AI liquor store.
Today.
We have today.
We all want to have tomorrow, next week, next birthday, next year. But those guarantees were lost by the USPS like a million other packages of hope possibly discarded by an overworked government employee.
So, back to today.
EVERY DAY: You need to do the things you need to do to be successful. — Daymon John
This is an immutable fact of life, business, relationships, and all human endeavors: every day.
Not just the first weeks of January when we all go to the gym with our new sneakers.
The ones folks get at a bargain come March at the Goodwill.
What do we have to do?
Well, for ya’ll it is different.
My “need to do” list is nothing like yours. You don’t want mine - and I don’t want yours.
They would be meaningless to anyone else but ourselves.
But I KNOW you need to do things.
Because I need to do things.
Need > System > Execute > Output > Measure > Correct : Repeat.
A system will make it easier.
Loving the execution will make it easier.
Seeing the output will make it easier.
Stop thinking about the ROI… just do it.
We decide to engage when we decide to actually do something.
Writers should write every day.
Poets should do poet stuff every day.
Drummers should drum every day.
Oh, and that includes finding viable clients, contacting those clients, talking to them, showing them why they would be altogether smarter and better looking after hiring you to make some killer-ass photos for them.
How you do that may differ from any other in the same place, but the overall goal is the same; Let them know you exist and they should - in fact they NEED - to hire you.
It has been true for the last 100 years, and it is true today.
Or you can invest in those AI powered driveup liquor stores and hope for the best.
Two Guns, Arizona.
My wife has wanted a photo of herself standing next to Glenn Fry in Winslow, Arizona… such a fine sight to see.
So I indulged her with a little foray up along the forty.
We passed the old gas station and restaurant called “Two Guns” and I had a flash memory of being 14 and visiting this place with my family. I40 was once Route 66, and my dad would drive us back east along 66 every summer to visit family.
This area has been inhabited dating back to the 1600s. The history of the original people is rich, and fascinating.
Henry, “Two Gun” Miller leased this area near Canyon Diablo and built a thriving development that had a zoo, a souvenir shop, cafe, and overnight accommodations for the intrepid early adopters of Rte 66.
People got their kicks at Two Guns, 66.
It is a wreck now, ol ‘Two Guns’. A graffitied eyesore with its own exit along the freeway.
Nothing left there, no facilities.
We stopped because, hey… did you forget the graffiti?
Photographer > Camera > Graffiti > Nirvana… simple.
Something caught my eye in the distance, so we visited the ruins of an old guest facility, zoo, and tourist trap with a very colorful past. Word is, it is now owned by Russel Crowe, although that is nothing I would stand on for authenticity.
Here are a few photos from that area. I wanted them to feel like they were made when I was a kid… but in the condition they are today.
If you get a chance; I40 > take the Two Guns exit, turn west immediately after exiting. The buildings are visible to the south, and the road is fine for a car driven by someone who understands their limitations.
Have a great first week of business, and make stuff happen.
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.
Coming in 2025, a One-on-One, 6-week plan to get your marketing system in place. You will see results immediately, and by results, I mean assigned work that pays you. More coming.
Seen and Noted
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