I’ve often felt that I’m the luckiest guy in photography.  I have the keys to Ansel Adams’ Cadillac in my desk drawer.  Avedon once made me pasta for lunch.  Scavullo’s dog tried to bite me.  Arnold Newman could never remember my name.  Don Imus bought Ansel’s camera gear for $100,000 that I raised for charity.   The list of seemingly useless information, but fun events in my life, goes on and on.  I’ve worked for some amazing companies, with amazing people and have a network of friends who simply inspire me every day….and it all started with a job washing bottles in a research lab at Polaroid way too long ago.

So there’s a really simple point this morning.   Like everyone in our industry, I’ve had my share of ups and downs and if I’ve learned nothing else, things always work out for the better.  Whether they really do or it’s just the way our minds help us to adapt and accept change makes no difference.  Every change in my career has added something to my education and like Don Blair, who I’ve talked about so many times, we can NEVER stop learning!

As my new business, of which this blog has become a daily labor of love, continues to grow, I find myself trying to figure out how in the world I got here?  I even “should” on myself a little, quietly saying “I should have done this years ago!”    So, on this wonderful Sunday morning leading up to Thanksgiving, stop worrying about your business this week.  Clear your head, enjoy your family and simply appreciate the process of growing – and remember that tough times help to make you stronger!  

I found a great quote from Mark Victor Hansen:

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

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