10 Years

So I know January is nearly over but I’m feeling like there’s a shift and a whole new energy to this new decade and I am excited!

I’ve taken a bit of time off recently to work on myself and other creative projects.

This meant huddling up to my journal and going deep within. I spent time thinking about what I want out of this life, where I have been and where I want to go. I’m going to be honest I didn’t have all the answers to all the questions but asking is the first step right?

One of the exercises I did was to look at the major milestones that have happened in my life over the past 10 years. This is really interesting as so often we totally underestimate all we have achieved, rather focusing on our failures or the things we think we should have achieved by now which means we can often be negative about what is actually possible. 

This can really mess with our mindset. 

It has been said that “People tend to overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what can be achieved in 5-10 years”

In the last 10 years I have

• Launched a wedding photography business with very little money or knowledge about business, marketing, retouching, how to pose people, off camera flash and manipulating light in general, workflow, customer relations or social media.
• Learnt all that stuff 
• Worked myself through the blood, sweat and tears to find myself on the Fearless Photographers 2019 Best wedding photographers in the world along with various other accolades that have given me credential and also blown me away!
• Photographed hundreds of weddings and portraits sessions all over South Africa and the world

 

 

• Met so many incredible people that make my heart sing
• Bought a whole bunch of photography gear which I thought was totally impossible when I first started
• Have been made a Profoto ambassador

 

 

• Burnt out and picked myself back up again
• Bought a house on my own without any financial help from family or a partner and refurbed said house which I thought was even more impossible 

 

 

• Had two long term relationships which failed and is really sad, but I’ve learnt a lot about myself from both of them
• Haven’t had children! This was a decision that I made for myself. Hard to explain to the world but I have just never wanted my own.
• Spent time with family, chosen family, good friends and new friends
• I have traveled to India, Sweden, Mauritius, Zambia, Tanzania, Madagascar, Indonesia, Germany, Namibia, Spain, the Caribbean and the Uk
• Have become an educator and speaker, running in person workshops and talking at photography events. I even spoke at the Fearless photographers conference in Germany, First South African to ever do so

 

 

• Read so many books, spent hours on a yoga mat and in the ocean, been on lots of retreats, learnt to meditate, learnt to ride a horse and have bought a longboard
• I’ve found the most wonderful clients in all aspects of my work and am so very grateful that I attract the people that I resonate with
• Stuffed up ALOT!!!!
• Learnt a lot!!!!!!

 

I am sure there is a bunch of stuff I have left out but that’s the jist

I would highly recommend you take the time to write down what your milestones have been in the last decade – You might surprise yourself at just how far you have come and inspire yourself as to what is actually possible in this brand new sparkling decade!

If you want to fast track your success in your photography business I would highly recommend investing in it and not doing it the hard way like I did for so long! 

I attended my first photography workshop 4 years ago when I attended the Two Mann Photography workshop in Spain and this was a total game changer, not long after that I worked with top International business coach Chanelle Segerius Bruce. This was the best money I ever spent and I wish I had done it all sooner instead of having to learn by making mistakes! The hard way is the expensive way I can assure you!

One of the things I know I want to do in the next ten years, is to help other people achieve their goals and live their true potential. It’s written in black and white in that journal I was telling you about so it will be interesting to see where this decade takes me.

I’m running two in person workshops in South Africa this year. One in Durban on the 17/18 March and the other in Jozi DTBD

We still have 3 places left for Durban and if you would like to be put on the wait-list for Jozi let me know. Click here for more details.

I would love it if you could help you reach some wonderful 10 year milestones!