Addicted To Excellence
by Robert Provencher
“Success doesn’t come to you…you go to it.”
~Marva Collins~
Being addicted to excellence means you will fall, trip and tumble. You’ll get scratched, bumped and bruised. Maybe break a few bones, metaphorically speaking.
You will get hurt, and the key is to get back in the game, let the addiction push you forward. Be relentless.
The most vulnerable breaking points are your pride and ego.
Keep them in check, and you will succeed with persistence in photography.
Yearning to get better at photography means you are willing to push, and push hard, because you are addicted to excellence.
And excellence is an inside job. It’s part of how you eventually define your style of photography.
Here’s my quick list of essentials for maintaining a healthy addiction to excellence:
*Personal Vision: Never rely on another to create that inner vision where you want to go or aspire.
You can use other successful photographers as role models, and mimic, model and borrow ideas until you create you own unique style.
That’s a cool strategy, but let your own inner voice, vision and imagination, that ‘big picture’ vista that you paint for yourself, be your aim.
Photography by Robert Provencher
Photography by Robert Provencher
*Courage- It takes balls to tackle your fears and open up the gifts that will flow into your life when you do.
Fear can be your worst nightmare. And this includes voices of fear from the past, from the present and from those around you.
You know what they say, I’m sure you’ve heard them before. They try and keep you ‘safe’ and secure.
Don’t take any chances.
The worst offender is your mom. I always advise others to never take advice, whether business, marketing or shooting, from your mom.
She loves you too much and will lose loads of objectivity.
Your own inner voice of fear can also kill you drive to excellence too.
Maintain an attitude of ‘I will never let fear guide or control me, but will make fear my servant.’ Your fears contain nuggets of opportunities. If you face them and plough through them.
Photography by Robert Provencher
*Coach- Get some coaching. This could be when you enter print competitions and listen, (note the word: listen) to the advice, feedback and, ouch, that word, ‘critique’.
It could also be someone, a peer you admire. Maybe you’re chatting after a photography workshop (the seminar after the seminar) with someone who’s been there, and they offer you nuggets of advice.
Listen, understand and apply. That’s the key to being coachable.
Every world class athlete uses em, why not you. I would not rely on myself, my buddies or family if I wanted to learn karate. I would get a coach. A sensei.
Coaches can be historical figures as well. You don’t always need access to them. If you find yourself in a tough situation, ask this question: “What would (insert persons name) do in this situation?”
This could be a photography lighting challenge, a business challenge, a marketing struggle or a personal issue. Matters not. Get coached for clear, kick in the creative solutions.
*Attitude- Do I really need to go there? Everyone knows the importance of attitude.
A bad attitude is a deal killer everytime. Having the right attitude depends on YOU.
Having a ‘I will find a solution to this no matter what’ attitude, even in the worst circumstances, is key.
Photography by Robert Provencher
Photography by Robert Provencher
*Faith- Sometimes you gotta rely on faith more than anything. And, it’s good to have heaps of it even in hard times.
I’m not talking about religion or belief in God. Don’t confuse things or send me letters.
Were talking about photography and marketing. Composition, lighting, exposure, etc etc etc etc and building a business.
There are times when faith will pull you through. This could in very small ways or larger, deeper, life is a huge mystery
sorta way.
Example. Many times I am shooting, whatever, family, wedding, and there is chaos.
All is collapsing around me. I need to be strong and know, just know we will get the shot, no matter what.
Even if inside I might be struggling too, and everyone is panicking. Being creative, by the way, is linked to having confidence and faith.
Photography by Robert Provencher
*Become an exceptional student- Being a good student means showing up for class, take notes, study and get most of the answers right. Get a B average, maybe an A.
Being an exceptional student means showing up, sitting in the front of the class, taking copious amounts of notes, asking questions, putting your ego aside and having an open mind since you are looking for little ways to improve, even if you’ve been doing this for decades.
Being exceptional means you know you are always learning.
It means you don’t suspend everything because you are registered for a 5 day workshop in 6 weeks.
It actually means to get off your butt and light a fire! You start learning the stuff BEFORE the workshop.
It means you learn from younger photographers who are just starting out because sometimes their perspective is exactly what you need.
It means you learn from older, more experienced photographers and listen. Pay attention. Learn what took them years to learn.
There is genius in being able to learn from the mistakes of others.
Photography by Robert Provencher
yours in photography,
Robert Provencher
