Most conventional ideas about success go wrong because they focus on outcomes and results instead of on the processes of living. Outcomes come around from time to time, but life itself — the process of living, acting, thinking, and being — happens all the time.
No outcome is going to make a lousy, miserable process feel worthwhile — especially chasing money, power, or status. If they come to you, that’s fine. But if you hate what you do, no amount of power or money is going to make up for that.
Read the rest at Slow Leadership (here).
I’m off the rest of the week. See you Monday.
12 Comments
This is so true- money and success is only the consequence of lifestyles, attitude, and behaviors.
New to your blog for the last two weeks. I read about you in PDN News March Issue page 14. Wow! It’s been amazing so far! Great learning blog and very cutting edge thinking! THANK YOU!
Thank God you are taking a break my heads about to explode can’t you just do a normal post on maybe a photographer or something trivial like the rest of us.
Enjoy the time off, much respect AH
Rob
So true.
My favorite allegory for this idea is from the song by Jackson Browne, “The Pretender”.
“….They say in the end it’s the wink of an eye
And when the morning light comes streaming in
You’ll get up and do it again
Amen
Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender….”
Have a great weekend.
You old hippy you…
I got into this business because I love photography not for the money. It bums me out to see a lot of photographers that have been shooting for 20+ years bitch and moan about the industry.
Speaking of money and success. Did anyone else see Annie L. lurking in the background of Anderson Cooper’s piece on Obama last night? Working by herself, camera in hand, traveling with the pack.
“Der Weg ist das Ziel”
as the Germans say…
cb: I think you’re right, that looks like her in the background at 1:15, 2:29, and 4:25:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ru2NISnyZw
I swear, there needs to be an Us Weekly for photographers. Imagine the paparazzi shots of Terry Richardson…
Eric,
I would subscribe to that magazine. It took me a longtime to figure out that the SI Swimsuit videos weren’t about Walter Iooss;)
Tony
http://www.tcphoto.org
all my success is from working really hard at photography is so that i dont have to work really hard. does that make sense?
but i enjoy it.
Five years ago I hated my life as an analyst at an investment bank. The 60% raise i had just recvd didn’t make me hate my job any less. Having fulfilled my life-long dream of working as an analyst I had no idea what to do next. When mulling my options with a friend, not knowing what i wanted to be when i grew up, he asked ‘what would you be willing to wake up at 3am to do and do it for free?’ Despite no training or photo education, the answer was photography. It has been an interesting 5 years, but worth all the money i missed out on. Thanks for the great blog.
Thanks.
Didn´t have the pleasure of reading your blog in a while. Took a full time job not doing photos but earning money to do photos in the future. Worked hard and on a nice relaxful Sunday before I turn 29, reading this was the perfect reaffirmation of my thoughts in mind . . .
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