The pursuit of dreams is not for the faint of heart. It takes so much passion, desire, and endurance to bring a dream to reality. When I upended my life and headed to Florida to chase my photography dreams, I had a lot of per-conceived notions about where my life was headed and the direction everything would go in when I left Colorado. Little did I know a lot of those visions would be shattered and replaced with so many more important life lessons and experiences that I could have never imagined. I cannot express my gratitude for the journey that I was able to go on during my time in Florida. Here are some of the best lessons I learned during my time on the road.
Money Is Not Everything
When I started my journey east, I had everything someone could seemingly want in their career. A great salary, a line for another promotion, travel, an expense budget, the works. And yet I was so devoid on the inside because I was no longer doing what I loved in life. Don’t get me wrong, at one point I loved my day job, but as time went on, my passion and love for it subsided. I finally realized that the money I was making was coming at the cost of my soul, and the further and further I went, the more devoid I was feeling inside. We all need money to survive, but I lived on so much less the past few months and I can freely admit that I feel like a different human being with the amount of stress that has left my body from only focusing on my photography and not doing a job I no longer loved.
Planning Helps a Ton, But Be Willing to Adapt
I will be honest, I hate planning- I always have and it’s probably why I am like chaos to most people’s lives! I will admit though, I planned a LOT for this trip. I began the planning process back in September and it helped a ton with the journey. Not everything went according to plan though and where I thrive is in the chaos so I loved being able to adapt on the fly. Plan for the best, expect the worst, and enjoy the hell out of the randomness of life, it is one of the great joys of the journey!
You Have a Way Larger Community Than You Think
One of my favorite aspects of this journey was that I never knew who I would see week to week. I kept my website up to date and shared where I was going to show constantly on social media. By sharing more, I kept seeing more people that I never expected to! Family, friends, old acquaintances- I welcomed all that came to see me and the hospitality that everyone showed me was so unbelievable. The journey towards your dreams can be a lonely one at times, but it doesn’t always have to. Accept the help when others are willing to give it and welcome all experiences, they may just change your life!
You Do Not Have to Be a Lone Wolf
Growing up I was so enamored with the people that I felt hit these pinnacles of success by their lonesome, and now more than ever that’s what people think happens thanks to social media. I cannot express that I could not have made any of this journey happen without the enormous community that I have behind me. People were willing to help me around every single corner and I could not be more grateful for it. Everyone loves feeling like they are a part of something bigger, and they truly are. I would not be where I am today without the people and experiences that I have had in my life and being able to see that over this journey was deeply meaningful.
Don’t Lose Sight of Why You’re Here
This is a saying that multiple people told me at different times on this journey. One of the hard parts when you are first starting out on your own is being consumed with where the money is going to come from. I kept worrying about this for a while and then I got back to focusing on the creation and making my business better every single day. It all worked out in the end and at the end of the day you can always go back and get another job. If you lose sight of why you’re doing what you’re doing you will get lost along the way. Once I put things in perspective again, I had better experiences (and better sales) to help the world around me, and I took the best photos I could have imagined during my time in Florida.
People Are Willing to Help More Than You Know
Be a good person! It’s how I try to live my life and how I treat the world around me. Thanks to this philosophy, I had a number of other artists be so willing to help me along the way. I cannot even come close to expressing my gratitude for other artists because without them I probably would have failed in this process. Help other people the way others have helped you, and be willing to eat your ego and listen to what other successful people around you have done before.
You Only Have One Life to Live
This saying seems so trite and I am guilty of saying it over the years too. I never actually felt it until this trip however. I realized all of the time that I had wasted on meaningless shit and now see that I can never get that back. I don’t live in regret but there are a lot of things I wish I had done differently on the way. I know that I am in the best possible place with the life that I have left and I am going to consciously avoid wasting it from here on out. Live life with purpose and meaning, love deeply and tell the people in your life you love them, and make the world around you into a better place with everything that you do. You only have one life, so stop putting your dreams off until tomorrow and go chase them!
