Second half of the year. Yep. The first half of the year is gone and many good things has happened and also some shitty things. I know that to be the case and now me and everyone else can reflect and get a move on what it is that they want to do for the second half of the year.

My first half of 2011 has gone well, for the most part. I’m figuring out myself through this photography business stuff and I did alot of depending on other people. I’ll explain that some more soon.

What Did I Learn?

• I learned that I’m full of shit if I continue to talk about something and plan and make sure everything is going to work the way I want it to. Talk is cheap. I have constantly said I was going to do something, put motivation in my bones to see if I can make something happen and resort in not doing at all. My old ways of handling situations and motivating myself is passed me. I simply have to think for a short period of time (like a day) and just do immediately. I know that I will fuck up, I know that the words that come out my mouth will not be ideal or according to protocol, but forget that, I’m raw. As I learn and keep on doing I will psycho-analyze myself on what I did wrong and right I can calibrate my approach for the next person.
• I read many books this past 6 months that I have a better understanding on what it is that I can do. However, just as I explained up top, reading and reading and more reading will not help me get business. I have to think about what it is that I have read and apply it. Me getting to know the industry isn’t going to truly prepare me enough as a simple movement of my feet to find the people who will pay for my services. It’s simple, if somebody doesn’t know what I do, then they can’t buy from me. And, if they don’t know what I sell, how can they become interested in it. Every time I think of the Nike saying, I have grown to see that those people are smart people. That is a great motto to live your life by.
• It is important to know your craft. I mean as much of it as possible. I mean about the stuff that isn’t really cool, but will help you understand what it is that you need to do in all or most scenarios will build your confidence. My fiance and I had a date night a month or so ago. She saw how crazy possessive I was about the business side of photography. She told me that I need to continue to get better at the craft. That I needed to not forget the reason why you love photography. It was a great feeling to come down from my booster chair and get back into the grind of understanding what I can do and how I can get better. I’m not saying that I’m the shit, but I know so much more than before that my confidence is increasing and will continue to increase because I’m constantly learning.
• Getting back to the basics has helped me clear my head and just start to live life. I love spending time with my fiance, family and close friends. I do activities from time to time for myself. But the biggest thing that I look forward to is time with my fiance where we are just talking, giggling and not saying a word to each other. It’s a beautiful thing and cherish every moment.

What is Going to Be Done Differently or more of?

I’m going to still read, but now going to put my foot to the pavement. I’m going to work on this project that I will discuss next post, but doing less talking, thinking and analyzing. I will make mistakes, jot down what I did wrong, modify my approach and way of doing things and keep on improving as a photographer and businessman. That is what I will do. I will clear my head by stepping away from my passion and do things that I do just because I want to. I’m going to stop depending on others to get me business and do more for myself to make things happen.

The first half of the year I was constantly writing proposals and estimates. It took up tons of my time. There were other activities that took up time also. But now that I have bought software that speeds up this process, I can devote time to doing more photographing and marketing and all the other stuff that I want to work on. As time goes on, I’m finding out the activities that waste my time. The situation that I’m in right now is that I have to do everything to make it work. It makes sense in the beginning of a young business, but not sustainable in the long run. I have to devote most of my time to doing the things that I need and want to do (marketing and photographing) and find other people and software to take care of the rest. As I continue to get clients, save a dollar and become confident in my ability to please my clients, I will see where I am at.

The Demon in My Head

I still at times hear those voices of doubt and failure. I still hear those moments when I wasn’t getting a bite from no one. I still remember those times when people would ask for me to do this stuff for free. I still have those thoughts where I messed up with a potential client by what I said. I still look at some people who are not as talented as me still make a good living from photography. Those thoughts come up from time to time. But those thoughts, the negativity I feel and how unproductive it is thinking that way has allow me to keep them behind me (for the most part). I just have to remember that this is what I chose for myself and that if I can’t make it in this world of business, it is my fault.

It’s Go Time

Yep. It is time for me to start my second half of the year. If you are feeling like crap or need a different mind frame, change the way you look at your current place in life and start the year over again. It should give you enough energy, motivation to still make this year your year.