Willing to Risk, Question Everything, Getting a Client to Yes, and Some Damned Hot Chilis
Happy Friday. It's clean out the garage day. But first, some fun...
Yeah, it’s heating up in the desert.
Good Friday morning to you all.
Today, I am no longer willing to keep all the stuff clogging my garage and will risk the pain of throwing it all out for pickup on Monday.
I know, you are wondering what that is all about. No worries, it will be clear as you keep reading.
I am working on “The Creative Class” and should be announcing a lot more about it next week. I want any photographer who wants it to be able to create a sustainable business as a creative.
Creativity is now the most important trait one can have, and the demand for the creative arts has never been higher as it continues to climb every day.
Coming soon, the way to build a business that not only keeps you busy, cash flow solid, and excited but will also scale as big as you want it to get.
Are You Willing to Be Willing?
Ever get that nagging feeling that you are no longer in the game? You know, the one where you’re longing to step it up a notch, but something’s just not quite clicking?
Yeah, I’ve been there too.
(Just this past Sunday, as a matter of fact.)
It’s like wanting to trade my older bike for a shiny new cruiser, but my hands just won’t let go of those worn-out handlebars without a fight.
We stay with comfort, and while my bike is getting a bit long in the tooth and needs more and more care, I am comfortable enough with it that I can stay attached a while longer.
And we remain on that plateau, neither climbing nor falling.
But comfortable.
All the while wondering what we should do or whether we should do anything at all.
I think the secret to making that, or any change, comes down to one word: willingness.
If I am not willing to change, nothing you could do would make me.
No special offer, no price point, no ‘done for you’ deal - nothing.
For me to even begin to work on myself, my work, or the bike, I must be willing to do it in the first place.
Am I willing to be a photographer?
For me, photography isn’t finding that ‘perfect shot’. (Not sure what that would look like anyway.)
It’s about self-exploration, one frame at a time.
It’s about discovering what is right in front of me but yet unseen in the real world.
It’s about bringing something into a sublime state of soft memory with a little extra humanity involved.
Seeing something in the world that becomes a metaphor for something else.
And capturing that image.
It’s about the soul of my creativity hanging out for all to see.
Occasionally, that soul becomes eager to break free, maybe evolve, or change. To push a little harder at the slowly hardening walls that have been built against discomfort’s intrusion.
Well, that’s when we’re faced with the tricky balancing act of change.
And willingness.
Change itself has always been a wild ride for me.
I both love it and hate it.
One moment it’s thrilling, like the icy wind in my face atop a high mountain pass in the Colorado Rockies, and the next it’s downright terrifying, a road full of loose gravel as I come around a tight corner just a wee bit too fast.
A wee bit.
Cause when change happens, it can happen fast.
And if you ain’t ready, you ain’t ready.
And we never want to be surprised and unprepared.
So we have to be willing to practice riding, practice cornering, and make those turns again and again in the gravel.
And that means we must face the number one challenge of willingness.
Risk.
You have to be willing to risk… anything, everything, that thing, or, perhaps that other thing over there.
Something you are willing to do means you will face the risk of doing it.
If there were no risks, you would not have to be willing to do it.
Maybe it means sacrificing that extra episode of your favorite show to play around with a new lighting setup. You risk missing the comfort of that moment.
Maybe it means swapping a casual Saturday night hangout for some quality alone time with your work, dissecting every detail. You must risk the FOMO that faces you.
Maybe it means packing up the Chevy for a road trip by yourself, sleeping in the car, rising before dawn to set up for photographs that may, for a plethora of reasons, not turn out the way you’d hoped. Lots of risks there.
That’s the subtle beauty of willingness—it’s understanding that to grow, you must rearrange your priorities, do something different, and take risks both large and small.
The unwilling.
We live in an unwilling society.
Unwilling to change.
Unwilling to hear opposing viewpoints or to listen to others.
Unwilling to take responsibility for our own actions and reactions.
Unwilling to admit that we are where we are because of the choices we willingly made.
You have to be willing to risk going against the grain to find where you really fit in.
Willingness means being okay with screwing up.
Big time.
We have to screw up.
We MUST screw up.
We have been serial screw-ups since we learned to walk
And the magic is that we DID learn to walk. We screwed it up and fell enough times to bruise a pro athlete.
We learned to walk because we were willing to take the inevitable tumble and unwilling to crawl around anymore.
Change isn’t a smooth sea—it’s a stormy ocean with giant Steven Spielberg waves ready to toss us around like a tiny hollow boat, beat us down, and deliver our asses on the shore, laying in a bed of seaweed.
Not the pretty seaweed, but the smelly, slimy seaweed that is covered with a lot of those beach-sized flies.
But every stumble, every bad shot, every terrible take is just another lesson we need to learn. Part of that storm we've gotta get through.
And one more step towards becoming the artists we’re meant to be.
So here are the basic questions.
What are we willing to do?
What are we willing to let go of?
What are we never willing to let go of?
What are we willing to trade to get what we want?
Ask yourself, “What am I willing to sacrifice? What am I willing to change?”
It’s amazing how these two questions can completely reshape everything.
Be bold, be daring, and most importantly, be willing to be willing.
Be willing… to be willing to change. To tackle risks.
Every sacrifice, every tradeoff, every risk you are willing to face are the foundation for becoming the artist you know you can be.
The one I know you are.
This stuff works.
On Monday, I recommended a book, “$100M Offers.” I am hoping you picked it up at Amazon. It’s only $2 for the Kindle. I guarantee it will make you more money as you begin to see different ways to grab the client’s attention with offers they will willingly take. If you are willing to risk $2 to make a little change, this is your chance.
On Wednesday, I helped a photographer win a very lucrative bid using the tools in this two-dollar book.
Let me know what you think about the ideas. Perhaps we can do a webinar on how to integrate his strategies into our photography and visual media businesses.
The Art of Inquiry
John Jay is a legend in the Advertising business. This article discusses some of the compelling reasons he is so influential. They apply to all creatives.
“1. The question is, “What is the question?”
As Creative Chairman of a global corporation, John spends his time traveling between Tokyo, New York, and Portland. The teams in various countries are often eager to know what they should do. In the context of business, one’s job is to make something successful and there is little room for experimentation. It’s easy to say “Don’t be afraid of failure,” in theory. In reality, you are expected to do the job well and not fail. Naturally, teams want to know what answer the boss might be expecting.
Instead, John encourages interrogating the problem at hand first. “The question isn’t, ‘What is the answer?’ The question is, ‘What is the question?’”
Read the whole thing here: “The Art of Inquiry.”
Consider the premium edition for more artful goodness. It isn’t a lot of risk if you are willing.
After the jump, a new P52 Legacy Assignment, and some ideas for getting reluctant clients to see things your way… and hire you!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to In The Frame to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.