2015 To Do List

Weddings

January 7, 2015

I recently read a quote from the commencement speech Shonda Rhimes gave at her alma mater last year that really resonated with me. She said “Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change. So, Lesson One, I guess is: Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer. Maybe you know exactly what it is you dream of being, or maybe you’re paralyzed because you have no idea what your passion is. The truth is, it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to know. You just have to keep moving forward. You just have to keep doing something, seizing the next opportunity, staying open to trying something new. It doesn’t have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life. Perfect is boring and dreams are not real. Just … do.”

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That stuck with me because I feel like I am the kind of person who likes to take action. If you want to run a marathon? Just start running and work your way up to it. Want to host a workshop? Get a venue and sign some people up! Want to eat donuts every day all day? Haven’t actually figured that one out yet…but you get the point. For me, I want to swap “New Year’s Resolutions” for a “New Year’s To-do List”. I think that labeling yourself as a dreamer and thinking about dreams makes it all too easy for us to become complacent and never make them happen. Why? Because a dream (and in a lot of cases, a goal) isn’t tangible. It’s a theory or an idea, not a practical, solid thing you know you have to do. A to-do list is different. It basically implores you to get on it and start crossing things off the list. I want to encourage you guys to write those dreams (or, at the very least, steps you can take to make them happen a little bit more of a reality) onto your to-do list. What do you have to lose? Maybe you’ll only run five miles and not 26. But that’s still five more miles than you’d have run if you didn’t make it a “to-do” rather than a dream. Make this year your year! I’m challenging you!

So, after all of that, I’m definitely putting a lot of pressure on myself to accomplish my “to-do list” for the year. There are some smaller things on here, and some bigger ones that have been “dreams” for me in past years. But this year, I refuse to just dream. I want to do. So here I go!

  • Utilize more forms of social media. Basically, you can no longer solely rely on Facebook for free marketing. The days of sharing things with all of your “fans” (or even all of your friends) are long gone. So, for me, this means utilizing other forms of social media just as much so that I’m a little more well rounded. I have been using Google Plus and Twitter in addition to Facebook, but I’d like to be a little more consistent and grow my presence in both places. I’m also planning to be more consistent with pinning my work to Pinterest, and continuing to share images via Instagram.
  • Promo Film. Yes! I am so pumped about this!! We are working with Josh Gooden on a film for the business. I’m so excited about it because my brand has always been very personal, and I think this film will be a wonderful extension of that.
  • Update mobile version of website. The website platform I use (SHOWIT, in case you were wondering) allows for a custom mobile site in addition to your normal site. I plan to update the mobile site this year because I’ve realized that more and more couples are searching for wedding vendors via their phones and tablets! So, definitely need to step up my game in this area.
  • Shoot one roll of film a month. I’m a big believer that personal projects and hobbies are important for anyone working in a  creative industry to pursue. There has to be something on the side you’re doing just for fun so that when you’re feeling really burned out, or just not creative at all, you remember exactly why you love doing what you do. I really enjoyed shooting film last year, but this year I’d like to push myself to shoot more often…even when it feels like there isn’t as much going on (like in freezing cold January!). I might even share my monthly film scans here on the blog!
  • Photograph a destination wedding (or elopement). Ah, so this is the big one. The one that inspired me to go on a two paragraph rant against dreaming. For a couple years now I’ve dreamed of shooting a destination wedding. But I think in the past, I wanted one for the wrong reasons. I’ve watched my peers shoot them and wished I could have those opportunities. I was so envious of their adventures! I even felt like there was something wrong with me or my business because I haven’t shot one yet. Like in order to be a respected professional photographer, shooting a destination wedding is a requirement or something! (It’s not, if you were wondering). Traveling last year for fun reminded me how much I love it and how inspired I am by travel, nature, and architecture. This year, I want a destination wedding, but not because I feel like it’s a box I need to check in order to be someone or something. I want to photograph a destination wedding because as an artist, I am yearning for the experience creatively. Putting it out there is kind of scary, because this is one thing on my to-do list that I don’t have 100 percent control over. I can’t guarantee someone will want to bring us with them or fly us out to them. But I do feel that there’s power in putting things out there into the universe, even if it’s just the magic of getting a fire lit under you since everyone who has internet access can see that you said you were going to do it. One of the things that kept me going through marathon training was knowing everyone on Instagram and Facebook was going to laugh at me if I backed out!
  • Set up and shoot a personal shoot. This one also falls under personal projects. When I went to Foster workshop last year I was inspired by how Ben and Katch are constantly coming up with shoots of things that really excite them and push them creatively. This is something I definitely plan to do for myself! Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone by shooting a roll of film at my shoot! Haha.
  • Streamline submissions process. Last year this was one of the things that didn’t work as well as I would have liked. The key to having a successful workflow is finding a way to get through all of the steps of the process in a way that makes sense to you and flows pretty simply. I’ve been trying to do this one way for the past three years and I really need to sit down and analyze WHY this isn’t working well for me and what I can do to simplify the process so it’s a no brainer.
  • Say yes. I get caught up in feeling like I need to protect my time…and it’s true that I should be making sure that I am not saying yes to every single thing, every question, or every opportunity. But, I think that this year is going to be about growth for me, and growth comes from getting outside of your comfort zone. If you always lift light weights in a manner that’s comfortable, you’ll never gain muscle. The same is true I think for the rest of life. So in that vein, I want to make it a goal to have an open heart and say YES to opportunities that might scare me, or that I might have hesitated over in the past.

Personal Things:

  • Take at least two trips.
  • Run a half marathon in the Spring and a full marathon again in the Fall.
  • Take a calligraphy workshop
  • Get wisdom teeth out
  • Get a second tattoo
  • Have fresh flowers in our home at least once a month (preferably once a week)

Well, there you have it! My “to-do” list for 2015. I can’t wait to see what adventures this year has in store! I’d love to see what’s on your list, too! Let me know what you’re planning to do this year in the comment section!

 

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