Welcome to day 37 in my 100 posts in 100 days for photographers!

For the first several years of my business I hid behind excuses and lies. I was convinced there was something beyond my control that was holding me back from being successful. I told myself that success was just ahead if I waited long enough. In reality, that mindset was like a mirage. You see it ahead, you chase it and it moves again, just out of reach. So today is a bit of a reality check. These are the three biggest lies we tell ourselves as photographers:

1. I’m not good enough.
   I know you know you’re good enough. I know you know you’re good enough because I have never once cooked dinner and thought “I should start a catering company.” I have never once decorated my living room and said “I should be an interior designer.” What I DID do was take photos and think “I should start a photography business,” and so did you. You only started charging for your services because you knew you were good enough to do so. If you weren’t good enough to charge, you wouldn’t have set a price list. Your work is good enough! I never thought someone would pay me to be creative but through years of persistence, education, and honing my craft, I can confidently charge for my photography. The same is true for you.
2. I just need XYZ to be successful.
   Years ago I was a loyal follower of a photographer in California. She had this signature Photoshop action that she put on all of her wedding dresses. It was grainy and black and white with a tinge of brown. I genuinely thought “If I could get those actions and apply them to my photos like her I would be successful too.” Well, I did get those actions and guess what? Nothing happened. So often we tell ourselves that we just need this lens or that preset to be successful but that isn’t the case. You have everything you need. As Joel Grimes says, “You can rock the world with one lens and one light.”
3. I’ll start tomorrow.
   How many tomorrows have we given up on? I know it might seem like we have an infinite amount of tomorrows, but that mentality is a huge mistake. Go into each day as if you ONLY have today. Start a to do list, give yourself deadlines and make sure you finish them. You’d be surprised at how much you can get done in a day if you have an outline and firm goals. As my bestie says, “The days are long but the years are short.” Each day is a piece of our lives that we will never get back. Make it count right now.

As a last piece of motivation for this post, I’m going to post a story I saw several months ago that really stuck with me:

Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest: Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400.00 in your private account for your use.

However, this prize has rules, just as any game has certain rules.

The first set of rules: Everything that you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from you.

You may not simply transfer money into some other account.

You may only spend it.

Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400.00 for that day.

The second set of rules: The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, It’s over, the game is over!

It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do?

You would buy anything and everything you wanted, right?

Not only for yourself, but for all people you love, right?

Even for people you don’t know, because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself, right?

You would try to spend every cent, and use it all, right?

ACTUALLY, this GAME is REALITY!

Each of us is in possession of such a magical bank.

We just can’t seem to see it.

The MAGICAL BANK is TIME!

Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us.

What we haven’t lived up that day is forever lost.

Yesterday is forever gone.

Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time… WITHOUT WARNING.

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?

Aren’t they worth so much more than the same amount in dollars?

Thank you so much for being here for day 37! I’ll see you tomorrow for day 38: My favorite YouTube Videos!

Day 98 is currently reserved for any questions you have throughout the next 100 days. To submit a question, please click here!  If you’re interested in supporting this project, please share, PIN and comment! Any other questions, comments or ideas, please feel free to email me at denise(at)denisekaris(dot)com

Denise Karis is an Arizona photographer who enjoys musicals, Doctor Who and breakfast burritos. IG @denisekaris