The frustrations of being an artist-entrepreneur test your faith, right?
Faith in yourself, faith in these possibilities, faith in whether or not you should even bother trying so hard.
Instead of testing your faith, how about we faithfully test?
Just for a few months…
If you feel stagnant and frustrated, here’s my challenge to you:
1. Choose a path forward:
Whatever you feel is holding you back from making better photos and earning more clients, choose a path to solve the problem. Stop trying to be perfect, stop trying to figure out every possible outcome, stop having FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) about all the things you’re NOT choosing so you can follow this path forward… And choose how you’re going to take bold, clear, tangible action to fix what isn’t working – OR to test something fun, fresh, new, different, to see if it DOES work for you. This is your TEST.
2. Commit to this path for the next three months:
Whatever you’re testing – photography techniques, bravery challenges, how you ask people to do business with you and how often (protip: more is good) – COMMIT to test this path for the next three months. ALL IN. Burn the boats, there’s no going back. Just commit your full energy, attention, available time, and heart to really giving this test everything you can give it to be successful.
3. Evaluate at the end:
Set a calendar reminder on a day you can set aside 30-90 minutes and EVALUATE your results. What were you trying to accomplish? What were you trying to make happen? What was different because you chose this path and committed fully to it? Did you see the results you wanted? Why or why not?
And, vitally…
4. Pivot:
What worked? What didn’t? What do you want to TEST differently for the next three months to see if it works better, based on this new knowledge – new data – you have to work with because you really gave it your all over the last three months?
Simple, but not easy.
The Resistance will show up. Distraction will lure you away. Self-defeat will try and reign.
It’s okay for this to be hard. This is your opportunity to overcome where others quit. This is where you hurt, but learn, and grow, and get better.
“I want to be better.”
Choose. Commit. Try hard. Be patient. Have faith. Test and evaluate and pivot.
Be better.
What’s stopping you? E-mail me and let me know.
James Michael Taylor
www.parttimephoto.com