I'm sitting at my desk pondering about how much work I do for my people. Seriously, my clients hire me and when they actually see all that I do for them, they realize the value. Sure, they could hire anyone they want to give them something. I see and thank those who value me and the quality that I produce.
Now you're probably scratching your head and thinking...'Okay, where's Mike going with this?!?'. Well, I'm thinking about how many times I've encountered people that want what I have, or what other people have, but don't want to do the work. They want fame, muscles, fortune, talent, skills, or whatever, but don't want to put in the necessary time to get to where they desire. It's like working with a fitness pro; people see the end result, but not the sacrifices that this person had to put in to get there. They want your abs, legs, delts, glutes, sponsorships, ambassadorships, memberships, diets, etc. For me as a photographer, it translates to someone who wants my clients, lighting, camera settings, social media, network and more importantly my soul.
I remember watching Kevin Hart on a comedy movie special he had on Netflix and he said something very prolific that he and his closest friends state, "Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work. I live by that. You grind hard so you can play hard. At the end of the day, you put all the work in, and eventually it'll pay off. It could be in a year, it could be in 30 years. Eventually, your hard work will pay off.” Seriously...those words are definitely things that will motivate you to get off your butt and do some work. If not, you get what you get, and can't throw a fit!
A lot of times i sit back and recall how much I used to think that someone owed me assistance in building my dream, however after a while, I started to realize that you've got to get your hands dirty and grind without whining, and learn to enjoy the taste of blood from biting your tongue on things that have nothing to do with your business. It's a mistake that a lot of beginning entrepreneur's make. I guess that's a good reason I get a lot of business...I don't get on social media and go around bashing my competition, or try backstabbing them. Inside my heart, I know we can all be successful in this industry because there's plenty of business. Call me "Fair Square", but it's true. I only have to prove myself to my current client. (Let your work speak for itself!!)
Do the work! Do what other's won't do! Most importantly...DO YOU!!
In my office on my computer monitor, I have a yellow post-it note that says, "Whatever it takes!" That's my mantra...that's my thing. I'll never give people the satisfaction of saying that I didn't do my job. There's a few out there who'll say that, and that's fine because I have everything documented, and I always dot my "i's" and cross my "t's" whenever it comes down to preparing to do my job, or dealing with people. That's one of the biggest things I learned as a Marine Administrative/Personnel Chief....TAKE NOTES AND COVER YOUR BUTT!!!
To my fellow photographers...get out there and make something happen! Stop with the excuses and show people that you can do this! Thank you for making the time to read this.
Semper Fidelis!
Mike - @mikeconphoto on Instagram
#mikeconphoto #tribemikecon #denverfitnessphotographer
