Today I wanted to ask: what do you think is the single greatest lesson photography has taught me?

 

Wrong (it’s actually not how to take a good picture).

 

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What photography has taught me is how to be patient. It has taught me to keep taking one step at time towards my goal and how to be happy with what I have achieved.

I realized this during a conversation with a friend a few months ago. After sharing how frustrated I was that I felt my life had stagnated, he shared something with me that changed my perspective.

He did this by sharing how he views progress. In life, we often wait until we’ve mastered something to say we’re better at it. We’re only better at violin when we’ve mastered a new piece. We’re only better at painting when we’ve completed a new portrait. We’re only better at hiking once we’ve reached the top of the mountain. In reality, though, we were better each time we picked up the violin, each time we sat down in front of the canvas, and each time we took a step up that mountain.

 

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And then I realized, that just because I haven’t reached my ultimate goal of having a self-sustaining photography career, does not mean I haven’t made progress in my life. Every image I edit, every shoot I complete, every magazine submission that is accepted, and every blog post I write brings me that much closer to my dream.

We take one step at a time in life.  We get steadily more experienced, and even though we may be exhausted by the time we get to our destination, it was the patience to endure and to keep walking that got us there.

 

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So the biggest lesson photography has taught me is not how to be a better artist or how to tell a story better (although those are important). More importantly, photography has taught me how to have the patience to keep doing what I’m passionate about, even if it means just taking one more step every day for a year, or three years, or five years.

One day, I’ll make it to the top of that mountain. And I’ll see it wasn’t the top of the mountain that was my success story… it was the hike that brought me there.

 

P.S. I’m currently clearing out my current stock in my shop to make way for new products coming November 15th. I’ll be offering a coupon code for 20% off your order to those signed up for my mailing list. Click here to join and to get your coupon!