Quick snapshot by Corwin, one morning this spring in Death Valley. The over-zealous use of the high-pass filter can only be blamed on me though._____________________________________________
Keep reading, I did the draw for the Artist Print of Twilight I, Tahoe this morning and I’ll announce the winner at the end of this post.
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Another idealistic post this morning, I’m afraid. I blame Gary Vaynerchuk. Once in a while I re-read his book Crush-It! or watch a podcast and he fires me up, reminds me that even the sermons I preach myself could be preached with greater conviction. Two nights ago I watched this video and since then have re-watched it at least a half-dozen times: Watch it on YouTube HERE or click the graphic below.
You should watch it. It’s 15 minutes of ranting by a very passionate and intelligent man that has the chops and credibility to back up what he says.
Last week I did a podcast with Martin Bailey, a photographer I both like and respect. He recently discovered he had a brain tumour. My massage therapist just buried his mother. Others that I know have lost and are losing loved ones. Life is short. And as Gary says, we have one chance at this. One. And if you thought I was on a tear about how short life is and how intentionally we need to live it, with every word and breath and waking moment, it’s going to get worse. 🙂
Here’s some soundbites from Gary (warning, the language gets a little rough) Some of these bites will apply to everyone, some are more specific to the VisionMongers in the crowd. But if you get nothing else from the video, ask yourself – what am I that passionate about.
“Let’s start with passion. There is [sic] way too many people in this room right now, that are doing stuff they hate. PLEASE STOP DOING THAT. There is no reason in 2008 to do shit you hate. None. Promise me you won’t. Because you can lose just as much money being happy as hell.”
“Let’s talk about community. Listen to your users, absolutely. But giving a shit about your users is WAY BETTER. People listen but they don’t do anything. Doing something, answering those emails, giving a crap, caring about your user base – that’s what you need to do.”
“You need to care about everything, and it starts with yourself. Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, What do I want to do everyday for the rest of my life? DO THAT…whatever you need to do, DO IT.”
“Stop crying and just keep hustling. Hustle is the most important word ever. And that’s what you need to do. You need to work so hard.”
“Legacy is greater than currency.”
“If you for a second – a half a second – don’t believe in what you’re doing, whether it’s your personal brand or the product you represent, GET OUT NOW. We only get to play this game once. One Life.”
“The only way to succeed now is to be completely transparent. Completely. Everything is exposed. Everything you do. So your legacy is your ultimate life. It’s all you’ve got. And you can build so much on that. When you have brand equity so much can happen.”
“I don’t want to hear about this nine to five bullshit. I don’t want to hear about this 2 job thing, 9-5, I don’t have time. If you want this, if you’re miserable, or if you don’t like it, or you want to do something else, and you have a passion somewhere else. Work 9 to 5, spend a couple hours with your family. 7 to 2 in the morning is plenty of time to do damage. But that’s it. It’s not going to happen any other way.”
“If you’re doing something else and you want to do this thing you love, you do it after hours. You work 9-6, you get home, you kiss the dog, and you go to town. You start building your equity in your brand after hours. Everybody has time. STOP WATCHING F*CKING “LOST”!”
The reason this hit me so hard recently is I keep putting out these thoughts, and I get pushback – reasons people can’t do what they want to do. But you know what most of it is? It’s reasons they won’t even try. And if I can push just one person over the edge to travel the world, to build an amazing business, to pursue a personal project, then it’s worth it. Because you’ve got one crack at and your kids aren’t an excuse. Don’t you dare use your children as a reason not to pursue something you think you were made for, or called to. Telling your kids they can do anything then leaving them with a legacy of safety and risk-aversion and mediocrity is no way to love your kids. Yes, you’ll do things differently, but do them all the same. If it’s travel, and so many on this blog are travelers, then sell your second car, forget the big-screen TV. Scrimp and save and hustle and do whatever it takes to do that thing you lie awake at night thinking about. Clear your debt, work your ass off, but there is no excuse not to do what you love. Don’t have enough time? I love that last line from Gary. Stop watching f*cking LOST. Turn the TV off. Sell it. Use your time for something that will really and truly make a difference in your life. Or at very least stop telling people you’d conquer the world if only you had time.
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After 760 comments on the post about Twilight I, Tahoe, we used the Random Number Generator to bypass the desire to pick someone cute and single, and instead are happy to announce that this print will be shipped out to Steve Scherbinski. Congrats Steve. Please treat it well. We’ll send you an email and get you particulars.
Comments
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Ignition check and ready for lift off !!! Thank you for this excellent post at exactly the right moment . No more excuses for not doing what I am passionate about and was meant to do. No more late night episodes of ” Dexter” or soul sucking job I can not stand any longer. Thanks for the inspiration on Independance Day 🙂
LOVE this post, David. I’m only just catching up on your latest posts and this one really resonated with me, in so many ways. I followed my dream for two decades – vow of poverty, being single ’cause I was never anywhere long enough to put down roots. Worked my ass to get a PhD in biology. I lived my dream. Was really challenging at times, but also one of the most rewarding things I’ve done.
Now I’m on to phase II of my dream. Have ‘settled down’ (relatively speaking). Have responsibilities to other people and so just can’t sell the TV or the second car and travel the world (yet). But there are other ways to acheive your dreams. Same endpoint – just a different path. One that’s mostly compatible with all aspects of my current life. I WILL achieve my goals. Am being strategic in how I get there given my current constraints.
I think some folks really do need to sell their TV’s and second car and go travel the world. For others, there are more constraints/responsibilties keeping them in one place. BUT… that doesn’t mean you can’t still pursue your dream. It just means you need to be more creative and strategic about how you do it. There are still no excuses for not doing it, aside from your own lack of passion. I work 7-3, commute nearly 3 hours a day to and from work, and am still happily pursing my dream of combining my passions for biology and photography. I’m just going about it differentl than I would have 10 years ago and that’s ok. If you have the passion – the fire in the belly – you WILL achieve our goals; there are no limitations that will stop you other than your own, self-imposed hurdles. If you’re passion is really only a lukewarm desire, then you’ll come up with every excuse in the book for why you aren’t living your dream…. MAKE it work, one way or the other.
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I love your rants they remind me that I’m doing the right thing or (depending on the day) point me back in the right direction…
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I suppose in my round-about way, I was trying to say that if we are not ready to hear the message, no messenger will speak to us, we will always find something wrong that limits our hearing; if we are ready to hear the message, any and all messengers will be heard.
The words will hit the heart, not the brain.
Not to sound too middle-path-ish here but I think there’s room for both GDub and Deborah to be right. Delivering a message in a way that others find hard to hear means not everyone will give it a chance. That might be something you can change, it might not. Gary V is just really high-energy and to some, really obnoxious. But there are also rewards for those who are willing to listen to the message even when the messenger gets on our nerves. The logical extreme of all this leads to the genetic fallacy – i.e. I don’t like him so he must be wrong (oversimplification, but basically that’s it.)
And really, Gary V isn’t saying things others haven’t before. I like him. I like that hes’ as passionate as he is. I probably couldn’t handle Gary for more than a few minutes, I tend to prefer mellow. But regardless, I think he’s saying things many people need to hear, and if he his shouting louder wakes some people up, that’s OK. 🙂
“Not liking his forthright delivery is also another way of dismissing a message…” I disagree. A song may have profoundly meaningful lyrics, but if those lyrics are attached to a terrible melody or are sung by a singer who’s voice we don’t like, the “delivery” gets in the way of the message. So, yes, the messenger is not the message, but…
Leslie and Deborah, that was beautiful feedback, thank you. I think you’ve both contributed important and needed perspectives. Want to write these blog posts for me? 🙂
When we hear ‘family business, millions, wealthy’ etc it is easy to turn off and think that there is nothing to be learned. This person is too far away from my life to understand. BUT… how much of that turn off is fear and excuses? Walking away from a family business is NOT easy. It is a legacy passed onto you, carrying loads of sweat equity from parents, grandparents etc – and in effect you are saying ‘I reject this history’. This is NOT easy. It looks selfish and ungrateful to the family.
So rejecting the message because the messenger has not lived our life seems to me to be an excuse.
Not liking his forthright delivery is also another way of dismissing a message that we don’t want to take heed of, maybe because it will cause us to radically rethink our lives, make changes and stop doing the expected, start doing the real. These can be tough decisions and cause real pain for us or our families. But they could also be the best decisions we have ever made, creating new opportunities for ourselves and our families.
The messenger is not the messge.
Scott, you are thinking along the same lines that I have followed.
As I pondered this post overnight, I felt like I had something to say to the detractors. When I read the post, surely it spoke to me about my photography, and about pursuing with passion this craft that I have been given. But it spoke to me as a wife, and a mother, and a person of faith as well. For you who say, “I can’t pursue photography because of my children, or I won’t pursue photography to the detriment of my health,” I say you missed the point.
Find what you are passionate about, and DO THAT. PURSUE THAT. You may be passionate about more than one thing, and photography is in that stack, but if you see your health as one of the most important things, then the blog post says to me that you should not put off training to run a half-marathon, or becoming a Zumba instructor, or starting a diet… or WHATEVER… until work is better or until you have more time. Don’t let your job or your “lack of time” hold you back from pursing a healthy lifestyle.
If you are passionate about your family and your children, don’t let your work get in the way of baseball or hockey games, or Boy Scout outings, or craft projects at the kitchen table and long walks where you can discuss the biggest and smallest things with your children. DO THAT. PURSUE THAT. Quit making excuses and empty promises, and choosing a TV show over quality time. Leave a legacy of focus and love that will affect generations and generations in your family.
This blog post challenged me to look at my life, at all of the areas INCLUDING my photography and see what I am shortchanging or making excuses about or not pursuing and evaluate what is holding me back. Thanks David, for being the catalyst.
Do what you love or love what you do? If your focus is on yourself, you will ultimately be dissatisfied. Find a way to give of yourself, and you will be used up, yet content.
Nobody is going to post “Wish I was you” messages on a stay-at-home parent’s blog. Nobody will tell them they are living the dream. But they are.
The mundane somewhere you live in is the dream destination some other photographer is saving their money to buy a ticket to come capture. Amazing places don’t make amazing photographs. Amazing photographers make ordinary places look amazing.
Want what you have.
Wow. Love this line the most. “Telling your kids they can do anything then leaving them with a legacy of safety and risk-aversion and mediocrity is no way to love your kids.”
That line to me sums up the two approaches to life. Approach #1, play it safe and hope everything works out. Approach #2. Take intelligent risks and take control of your life. Robert Kiyosaki talks about this in his excellent book “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” He talks about why the advice “go to school, get good grades and get a ‘good’ job” so often leads to mediocrity. This is a low risk, low return approach to life. I know because I followed the “go to school and get a good job” advice to the letter and the results, have been, surprise, surprise, average. In contrast, I have friends who started their own businesses, worked hard and did something they enjoyed and were good at and their income levels blow mine away.
Something to think about.
Oh, I’m sure that you have a huge road ahead of you. Hope you didn’t think that we just thought you were hanging out. You’re just inspirational.
Chris. Yup. Same old message that people still need to hear. There are no new messages. We just need to hear, and sometimes the passion of the speaker is enough to push us where we otherwise would be reluctant to go.
Leslie – Thanks for the kind offer but if you think my recovery isn’t full of doctors appointments, trying to learn to walk again, writing an overdue book, running my own company, and planning teaching opportunities well into 2013, then I’ve given the unintentional impression that I’m bored. 🙂 This blog is where I teach these days, and I’ve suspended most of my mentoring except where I can do it in person. But I’m grateful for the offer. 🙂
My oldest brother (18 years difference) taught me to water ski. When I fell and said “I can’t” he said “There’s no such thing as can’t”.
If you aren’t doing something it’s because you don’t want to badly enough and/or you aren’t willing to try. If you really want it, you will find a way.
I think the main trick is to understand that change should come in small increments. When we expect that one video or one message could change everything, life would be easy. It think this blog and the video (though I have not seen it, yet) do make a difference. Finding the right balance in one’s life (work-load, family, health, hobby, spiritual life etc.) for me is key to success. You can burn out because of you job, but you can also despair in your hobby – keeping the balance is key. And changing your life while keeping the balance is a slow process. People like you, David, can always remind us to keep the balance and change in healthy increments. So I think you make a difference by discussing this – maybe not a revolution every day, but stopping to watch TV and make a photo instead makes a difference as well. So thank you for the reminders, I take them as a lighthouse for orientation, though the destination is still some years ahead 🙂
The person who moved the mountain was the same person who once started picking up pebbles.
Andreas
@David
Fine, I did finish watching the video. He doesn’t say anything new. He just delivers the same old message in an energetic and charismatic way.
-Work hard
-Provide good customer service(people who dig what you are doing)
I also wonder if genetic traits such as high energy and charisma are a common denominator among successful people?
One thing for people to be aware of, is make sure they provide balance in life. Working 15 hours a day will come at a cost to your health and relationships.
So David,
pursuing what I enjoy is key. I want to get better at photography. I’ve taught a photography class to highschool kids. I loved it. i know my photography can/needs to get better hence I take classes myself. Now I think I need a mentor. Are you up for it? while you recover want to do something – teach us.
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You might not be able to support your own body weight on you legs, but they are still mighty useful for one thing: to give me a kick in the ass and get me going!
Thanks for the inspiration, bro. It’s hard to keep going sometimes, there is always doubt. But also, there is always hope!
Stay Inspired!
The real problem, is finding out what you want to do
Thank you for the bitch-slap David… I tend to forget… 🙁
May the force be with us!
Get well ASAP!
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Great post and excellent video, thank you.
After you tweeted the TED Talk, I watched–all of it. The “message” was right on, but I won’t be looking for any more of Gary’s performances because I found his delivery annoying as HELL–and I can only imagine how annoying hell might be. (Must be a generational thing?!?) But, YES–DO WHAT YOU LOVE! And I agree, passion is key. I’m 56, I work hard, I take pictures, I play guitar in a regularly gigging band, and I haven’t watched TV (other than movies on DVD) for over 13 years. Onward…
Love, love, love the post, David! Thank you so much for sharing! :c) I guess I needed that to keep running! Thank you!
Congratulations Steve… and thanks David for the encouragement
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I liked parts of this post and find the overall message important. However, I totally agree with Andy’s comment. You do know the TV is not the source of your problem when your medical doctor advises you to slow down and rest more… (Mind you, I am sure it IS a major problem for many people, though!)
As a very driven person, the beginning of the solution (for me) is to switch from a 60-hours-a-week days job to a 40-hours-a-week day job and use the difference towards developing my passion. It may look like a modest start, but it is quite big for me.
I also promised myself to never compromise my health and the relationship I have with my loved ones for the sake of my passion. I do not see this as a weakness, far from it.
But on the whole, yes, we should all strive to do what we love!
Andy, Melanie – I’m not talking about abandoning wisdom, healthy choices, or family priorities. Nor is Gary V. This discussion is about laziness, excuses, and the expectation that life will either happen or not happen to us. If you want it to happen you have to work hard. Work is a good thing. I’d rather work hard, be happy and fulfilled – and challenged, and get 2 hours less sleep, but for many of us that’s not even necessary. We just need to tighten the belt. It’s about priorities.
Obviously in some cases the timing isn’t right, and there are often good reasons that are not just excuses. But I think we – as a culture in North America – have huge appetites for all kinds of things, and then simply get discouraged when we can’t seem to have what we really want.
Some people need to here this, some don’t. I’m not trying to be prescriptive. Some people are happy not “crushing it.” But for those that know deep inside there’s something they should be doing, they burn to do it, they can’t NOT do it, those people – like myself – sometimes need to be reminded that it’s very possible and the hard work is just part of it.
Plenty of people get 8 hours of sleep and are all kinds of unhealthy because they’re miserable inside and out. And plenty of people work their asses of in the time they have and still make time for a nap in the middle of the day. But if this pushes people to make even the smallest change so they have a little more time to do what they love, then that’s good.
While I do appreciate most of this post, I couldn’t agree more with Any (few posts up). “Do what you love”… but not at all cost.
You do know it is not the TV (or whatever else) that is causing your time shortage when your doctor advises you to slow down and rest more…
As an overly driven person, I had to promise myself that I would not comprise my health and my closest relationships for the sake of a passion. I do not see this as a weakness, far from it. For following my passion, the solution for me is to leave the 60 hours-a-week day job and get a 40-hours(max!)-a-week day job instead. This will allow me to use the remaining 20 hours to develop what I love. If things go well, the day job will become part-time and the passion will have more space to grow.
More importantly, I am likely to still be healthy enough to enjoy it, and have people close to me to share the joy.
Kristina (comment 2) I don’t know if you meant to do this or not, but I love that you wrote “full filled” instead of “fulfilled”.
Do what I love? What if she doesn’t like me?
I think the “Do what you love” message is right. Necessary, even. But I will say that it drives me nuts when people basically imply that you’re better off giving up sleep to work on the stuff you can’t work on 9-5. We’re going to end up with the first generation of people who don’t live as long because they’re cutting years off their life now.
Ah well, I’ll continue to get my 8 hours and try and find a way to get everything squeezed into the remaining 16. 🙂
Loved the video. No time to comment. Off to crush it.
“we used the Random Number Generator to bypass the desire to pick someone cute and single”
Next time I’m willing to offer myself up as second prize to be given to the cute and single one. Send photos.
Dang, I forgot to enter for the print. Well, slowly traveling round the world, I wouldn’t be able to lug it with me anyway.
In a way, this post was inspiring. Everyone one needs a kick in the pants at some point in their life. I think you just delivered it for me by sharing a video I had no idea about
I’ve had a successful career working for the “man”. Over the last few years though, I’ve become “dead” at it. I also realized that this was as the career had always been, my life. My life was becoming “dead”. For many of us, we are what we do. Success at work is success at life and visa-versa.
When I take something on, it’s always been take no prisoners! I started a journey a little while back, a month or so before David’s “Risk” blog entry. I’ve always worked for the man, so I have a LOT to learn. I’ve stumbled, but I did while working for the man too. I’ve also realized that as before, I need a network of people around me. So I’ve taken a momentary step back to work on that. What Gary says in the video, the words David has written, and I can point to numerous other sources are true. In the end, you’ll get out what you put in. Nothing will happen overnight. It was hard work when building the career previously, and this will be much harder, the risk greater. The reward, and I won’t be rich in $$ but richer in life, will be worth every minute, and I am going to make it a long and fruitful journey. My “encore” career.
Congrats, Steve S on your new “duChemin“ print!
Chris, I think you missed a real opportunity. The point of everything Gary discusses is hard work and making the time, even in sacrifice. His family were immigrants that worked their asses off to get where they were. To turn the video off becasue the guys work paid off is unfortunate. Would you prefer to listen to someone who says, “You can do this.” but hasn’t done it himself. I encourage you to give it a second look. I think Gary’s priorities and work ethic are worth hearing, even if you have to get through what comes off as arrogance.
Thanks for the link. Love GaryV. Love this post too, ..but I find myself weighing the cost.
I love the spirit of this post, but it’s quite a challenge you’ve presented here. If I sold the TV during football season, I might find myself doing what I love, alone. 😉 I suppose in a family situation, we have to find a balance; doing what we love, while allowing others time and freedom to do what they love.
If I had been presented with this post several years ago, I would have had trouble telling you what I would love to do. I was busy, living life as expected, and had no clue. Now that I have a better idea what I love to do, I still have trouble fitting it in with the daily responsibilities of my life. I’m trying to fit it all in, but sometimes I quit because I don’t like feeling like I’m doing too many things, and not any of them well.
Am I just making excuses?
Good answer, Chris Ward.LOL.
Seriously, I turned off that video at “I took over my parents 2 million dollar business…” He obviously didn’t grow up broke as I had. My dream as a kid was to play hockey. I didn’t because my parents couldn’t afford it. My dream was crushed for financial reasons. It’s the reason why I am trying to build wealth(but damn it takes a long time). I don’t want end up like my parents working a crappy job in my golden years because I HAVE to.
In the meantime, I take trips when I can. This year doesn’t look good though. Hopefully, a cycle tour will happen for a week or two but no over-seas action. One good thing about my crappy job is that it pays reasonably well and allows me with large blocks of time off to play with photography. I am even seriously thinking about turning my extra time into a part time photography business. However, once again. It takes money.
I like it when you swear, even if it’s censored.
The only problem is you might notice a bit of a drop in the blog stats as (hopefully) some of the readers turn off their computer, stop visiting so often, and use the time to go shoot a few frames instead…
But that’s a good thing. Right?
Thankfully i’m not in a midlife crisis and do not have such problems. I hope you will find your way.
Bravo mate. Preach it!
I’m yet to figure out the finance side of things fully, but I am forging ahead on a road less travelled. I get to do the things I am most passionate about and feel I am called to, and I get to be a part of seeing people empowered to transform their lives and communities. I am doing something with my life that I feel has significance and purpose.
And I get to photograph it all 🙂 I mean, next week I get to spend my thirtieth birthday photographing in kenya on my first trip to Africa. How sweet is that!?!?! What a privilege.
I encourage anyone who is unsure to take that first step. The sky will not fall. As I said, I don’t have it all figured out yet and things can be tough at times. But is it worth it. Hell yes it is!
We can stick to what we know, to security and comfort, but at what price? Don’t let your dreams, your passions, the possibility to live life to the beat of YOUR drum pass you by.
What is your next step?
Sold the TV over a year ago… best thing I ever did to give myself time to pursue photography with real passion.
I don’t have time to read another post telling me I have lots of time.
Some of the commenters on your Buy The Ticket post seemed to have excuses. And to be fair, I still have a few of my own. But this year I’ve been kicking then up the arse. I sold my house in order to travel (something I’d always wanted to do). Had I not done that, I probably still wouldnt have the money to be doing it.
Someone once said to me (and I paraphrase)… It’s obvious if you want something enough. You’re already doing it. If you’re not doing it, you didn’t want it bad enough.
This has always stuck with me. No more shoulds, or I wishes (well, a LOT less of them anyway)
As usual you have me nodding my head yes.
David…thank you. although I didn’t win the print I still like you!
You’re so right, we need to do what we love. I just launched my website not long ago and it was a project I had been thinking about doing for a long time. I work full time, I have kids but I go out and shoot whenever I can and I’m up late at night and into early morning processing and blogging. It works for me.
Thank you. Needed to hear that rant this morning. Sometimes excuses flood in and I forget that to do what I love sometimes means I need to tune out the voices giving me reasons to not even try.
Started hearing this message from a teacher in high school who also worked part time as an paramedic. Almost every day he would come in to class with another story about someone whose one life had been cut off too soon and too unexpectedly. And he challenged us every time to do what we love and not waste our one life doing what we hated. Sometimes I still get caught up in the daily grind, but all I can say to you and to Gary is Amen!
Thanks, David! I actually watched that video yesterday morning when you linked it from Twitter, and while it hit me then, for some reason it really hit me harder this morning. The impact almost brought me to tears.
I’m copying about half of your words into my personal journal, just so I can reflect and not forget. All of it is so true. If we care enough about ourselves, and the ones we love, we’ll quit doing things we hate and start living the life we dream about everyday. Nothing is too hard when you have passion, vision, and drive. Nothing.
Excellent Post David!
I hope your recovery is still coming along well.
Congrats to Steve S. for scoring your image to hang on his wall. Lucky guy!
~Ciao
Deborah
Most of the time it isn’t necessary to do it all at once. It is possible to have a starter instead of the main course in a way. Sort of. Well you know what I mean 🙂
Congrats Steve S. on your print!
D. I love your rants. It took having my son to realize the direction my soul was dragging me in. Two years later, one more bun in the oven and next year, this time, I’ll be up to my eyebrows in photography at RMSP in Missoula. My husband gets it. The rest of my world…not so much. They all wonder why I don’t do senior portraits or weddings; because my loved ones: at the end of the day, I’m empty and the void is not filled. Recently I started a project I was passionate about; its taught me a lot in patience, understanding and how some thing need cultivation and time. At the end of the day, I feel whole (it may take years to finish this, but I am whole in no other way). After the boy and hubby have gone to bed, I throw a few hours at it. It keeps me going. We might lose our house and have to declare bankruptcy due to my hubby’s layoff, but its okay. it hurts like hell, but still I wake up every morning feeling full filled and knowing that this project is what I am meant to be doing and the long term goals align with what hubby is passionate about.
okay, probably too much info here. But thanks D. Know that your rants have touched at least one person and help keep things going.
Cheers
~K
Thanks for the encouragement David! I’m trying, but not hard enough.