If the old adage of “you are what you eat” is true, and I have no reason to believe it isn’t at least partially true, then I would probably constitute a significant commercial source of chocolate ice cream. However, food is not the topic of this post, but rather the content of our own minds. So, putting our opening adage aside, one thing I do believe to be very true is this statement:

We are the sum total of what we feed into our mind…

Whether or not we realize it, our mind is a hungry beast indeed, feeding and digesting everything around it in a silent frenzy. Our subconscious mind, the one responsible for most of our inspiration, emotions, dreams, gut feelings, and (ultimately) our success or failure, never rests or sleeps.

Constantly at work, our subconscious mind has all the emotional sense of a computer, indiscriminately processing and analyzing both negative and positive data equally…

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How To Be A Professional Photographer inspiration, motivation, napoleon hill, positive attitude, success, think & grow rich

I know what you’re thinking, “What in the world does this have to do with being a professional photographer?” Or, perhaps even, “What in the world does it mean? Is it something to do with politics?” The answer to the second question is a resounding “No!”

What Is A Left-Sider?

I’ll state right off the bat that this isn’t my own original concept, but I am so in love with it that I just have to share this with my readers. You can find the original post that inspired this one at the link below, and full credit must go to Simon Sinek, the author. Go read it, and then come back to read the rest of this (although mine is not as well-written)…

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Personal Zen inspiration, left-sider, motivation, Simon Sinek, Start With Why

There’s a saying that I’m sure everyone knows, that’s as true today as it was when it was first said, and that sits quietly at the very foundation of what we do every day as professional photographers (or any other business for that matter):

This is supposed to be difficult – if it wasn’t then everyone would do it…

Do you find running a photography business difficult? Do you have days when you think you really can’t carry on much longer? Are you constantly frustrated because clients don’t show up as expected? Do you wonder if the phone company has routed your calls to a remote Siberian outpost? Are your special offers so special that no one wants them?

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Personal Zen inspiration, motivation, photography business, professional photographer

In my previous post, I mentioned a book I read recently that has really altered not only the way I see the world, but also how I operate within it. “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek is a must-read for everyone and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The tenet of the book is simple – so simple, in fact, that it seems almost obvious. But, like many “obvious” things in life, it’s not obvious until someone smarter than us takes the time to point it out. Put in its most fundamental form, the idea is that successful individuals, leaders, brands and companies are successful because they have a common way of thinking, which is the opposite to most everyone else. Instead of communicating “what” they do, they articulate “why” they do it first.

Here, I believe, is a great example from the world of photography, someone we photographers are very familiar with…

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How To Be A Professional Photographer Ansel Adams, attitude, inspiration, marketing, Simon Sinek, Start With Why

Last night I stepped outside at around 8:40pm to watch the International Space Station (ISS) make a pass over the area, something I like to do whenever the opportunity presents itself and the sky is clear. I took my stepdaughter, Amy, outside with me to see the event, and we stood there waiting as a crescent moon floated high overhead in a starry sky.

Right on time, the ISS became visible in the distance. Although the sun had set some time ago, the ISS is so high that it reflects the dull red glow of the sun’s light filtered through the atmosphere (much like the color of a sunset). The moving point of light grew brighter and became more yellow as it climbed higher in the sky, until it was the brightest object in the sky, other than the moon itself.

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Personal Zen encouragement, inspiration, ISS

Unless you’ve been on another planet for the last few months, you’ve probably heard the word “recession” more times than you would have liked to. The news is full of it, mainly because negative material like that is more newsworthy – have you noticed how the [few] positive stories on the news are at the end of the reports, and are given the least amount of air-time?

All this negativity flying around is one reason why I really try hard to limit my exposure to the news during the day, and I try very hard not to look at it at all before at least noon.

But it isn’t just the news – it’s all around us; the people we talk to on the phone, our family, friends, neighbors, Facebook friends, Tweeters and all those other folks we connect to online. Everyone, it seems, is convinced that the end of the world is on its way.

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Personal Zen attitude, encouragement, inspiration, positive, professional photographer, success