1) WEAKNESS IS NOT A BAD THING
Having weakness’ is just being HUMAN! Someone once told me that if "you’re the strongest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” This quote has soon much meaning to me and it really makes me open up my eyes that there are always going to be people in your life that are better than you at something else. It doesn’t make you flawed, it makes you YOU! Accept your weakness’ and learn from them, grow from them but don’t ever be fearful of them.
2) LIFE'S TO SHORT TO CARE
I feel like this is pretty self explanatory but HOLY SHIT it is a constant struggle in my life and this one I think I will FOREVER be working on! Every time I post picture of my self, or say something, or have an opinion on something, in the back of my mind I am always thinking “what would other people think.” It’s that just sooooooo messed up!?!
"Now my goal everyday is to care less about what people think. "
Before being a photographer I was always a very closed off, introverted person that didn’t step outside my little box. However working with people and being around people and social media, it has taught me to be authentically myself and be able to express it in ways that resonates with other people!
3) FEEL ALL YOUR EMOTIONS
Who wants to go though life being numb and un-touchable? How do you gain life experience, if you don’t experience life and all the emotions that goes along with it? The Pain, the hurt, the joy, the love, the anger. FEEEEL IT ALL!
4) THINGS YOU HATE MAY BETTER YOU
Now this one has like 500 million difference meanings to it. However you never know if something you think you hate will be what betters you in the end. Except Brussel sprouts, that shit is disgusting.
5) CROSSFIT ISN'T TOTALLY HORRIBLE
Now this is my “Thing that I hate that will better me.” Im not, NOT an active person but I always despised just going to work out, just to work out. When I was a kid I played Hockey & Baseball and I was always a happy in shape kid, getting older and jobs and responsibilities I stopped playing sports, I got a desk job and well.. I got fat LOL. I had a gym membership, never used it but I always had good intentions! Long story short I was given an opportunity to join CrossFit for free and well I am NEVER someone to say no to a challenge. So here I am 4 months in and I am an honorary CrossFitter and all I have to say is that it isn’t TOTALLY horrible! (I actually kind of enjoy it)
6) FAMILY ARE FRIENDS AND FRIENDS ARE FAMILY
I’ve always been a firm believer that your Family should always be your friends, socialize with them, have drinks with them, talk to them, just cause someone is family doesn’t mean they can’t be your friend! On the flip side of this I also am a firm believer in your chosen family… the people that you choose to be around and choose to share you life with. These are the people that you should treat just like family because just because someone isn’t your blood relative doesn’t mean you can’t love them as if they were!
7) QUIT THE SELF HATE
This kind of goes hand in hand with the one above… For many years I hated myself and my body because I was bigger than most, I didn’t have like some guys and I didn’t have crazy biceps like some guys. Its only been recently that I feel comfortable in my skin and I am who I am! Whatever you need to do or tell yourself to start gaining more confidence in YOU then do it! Self preservation is always necessary!
8) GIN IS A GIFT FROM GOD
Need I say more? I’m having an ice cold Gin & Tonic as I write this…. excuse any horrible spelling mistakes from here on!
9) DIP YOUR TOE BEFORE DIVING HEAD FIRST
Okaaaay, where do I begin with this one… this personally is a struggle for me! I am the type of person that gets a new idea and jumps head first without planning, thinking or evaluating what I am doing… yes this sometimes can be good and it has led to me to taking many risks that pay off but the busier I get these days I really need to be putting my energy and drive where its needed most! All of that being said I absolutely THRIVE under pressure and I LOVE having multiple projects on my plate but I have learned that
before I just jump ALL IN to something, I’m just gunna dip my toe in, see how it feels
and see if I like it, work out a plan, think about all the outcomes and then once all of that checks out, put my focus on it!
Its Called “Time Management”… honestly I have no idea what that is but I feel like this is in the general realm LOL
10) YOU CAN'T MAKE ANYONE CHANGE BUT YOU CAN CHANGE HOW YOU RESPOND TO THEM
This is deep and WAAAAY beyond the scope of business related, this is personal AF. I don’t even really know how to articulate what this ones means to me but it is pretty self explanatory and I don’t feel like dragging you down but I’ve just learned in life that you can’t change people and its going to continue to disappoint you if you try so you just need to change how you respond to them! BOOM! Thank You for coming to my TED Talk.
11) CELEBRATE WHEN YOUR INBOX IS EMPTY
This forsaure will resonate with those who are entrepreneurs and run their own business… EMAILS ARE NEVER ENDING. So I have learned that the best way to get my emails done in FULL is to reward myself when my inbox says (0)… its only for a short time but I like to see how many toreros I can cram in my mouth before the next email comes in!
12) TURN ON HGTV
Bored? Turn on HGTV. Procrastinating? Turn on HGTV. Have like 500 million things to do and shoulda left the house an hour ago….? Turn on HGTV. Like I think I have planned and replanned my dream home like 9 times and its always a toss up of if I’m going to have Brian Beaumler come build it.. or Chip & Joanna Gaines… or maybe I’m just going to buy a resort in the Bahamas and renovate it with my very EXTREME level of blue collar knowledge, LOL NOT!
Can we also just talk about the fact that HGTV strategically doesn’t put any commercials in-between episodes?? Like as soon as one ends and your like… “okay, Ima get my fat ass up” the TV is like…
“ ON THIS EPISODE OF FIXER UPPER”
and you’re all like “OH SHIT I HAVEN’T SEEN THIS ONE!” Boom, now your stuck for another 60 minutes.
Also on the flip side of this… nothing makes me more frustrated than seeing some 20 something year old kids in butt fuck Missouri buying a 5000 square foot house for like $9…. like go play in Traffic KAY, no one cares about your struggles.
13) COMMON SENSE/COURTESY ISN'T "COMMON" ANYMORE
Need I say more?
14) TACOS WE'RE MEANT TO BE CONSUMED IN 3'S
No this doesn’t mean 3 MAX… this just means that if you eat 3 Tacos and want more like we all know you’re gunna get 3 more… Like I don’t care if I am FULL AF, If i’m on Taco #15… we all know Ima go for 18!
15) IT'S BETTER TO SING OFF KEY THEN TO NOT SING AT ALL
You can take this lesson from Stacie Lynn Photography… I mean have you seen our Car-eoke?!? Someone should probably just tell her to lip sync...
16) IT'S NEVER A SHAME TO ADMIT YOU DON'T KNOW SOMETHING, BUT IT'S A SHAME TO ASSUME THAT YOU DO.
As someone who always needs to know the answer to something, I’m never ashamed to admit that I don’t know… this doesn’t mean I won’t immediately stop everything I’m doing and google the answer and google 14 articles that pertain to that answer just to make sure there is evidence to back up my findings. I’m a NEED TO KNOW kind of person, and you can be that person and still not know EVERYTHING! Life is all about learning, so...
if you think you know everything, take a fucking seat my friend, cause no you don’t.
17) GET MARRIED FOR THE EXTENDED BENEFITS...
and like obviously love too, or money, thats also acceptable! I maaaay joke a lot but I always like to think that I fell in love and married the woman of my dreams and the clean teeth were just a perk… however I’m self employed and its a Dog Eat Dog World out there… so get on someone Benefits Plan LOOOOL!
Disclaimer* I do love my wife more than anything and I was with her long before either of us had benefits, I’m one of the lucky ones!
18) THE "ARE YOU STILL WATCHING" POP UP ON NETFLIX IS ANNOYING AF
Like what a way to kick a bitch when they’re down. God only knows they probably look like a hot mess, surrounded by snacks, chocolate on their face and all they want to do is binge TV and then Netflix has the audacity to bring up the fact that your ass has been in front of the TV for maybe a little too long… like how about you do your god damn job and just stream my series and shut up kay?
19) DELEGATE, DELEGATE, DELEGATE
Someone once told me that “What you delegate will be 80% as good as what you would have done, Let it Go.” I am learning to do this AT THIS VERY MOMENT! I am lucky enough to have hired on my first assistant that is slowly starting to take over things that I would normally stress about doing so I can focus on the really important aspects of my business that I can excel at!
20) DON'T DO SOMETHING JUST FOR THE MONEY, MONEY SHOULD BE A BI-PRODUCT OF DOING SOMETHING YOU LOVE
Ahhhhh I fell this SOO HARD! I always told my self growing up that I wasn’t just going to get any job just to rake in the big bucks but hate everyday going to work! I always knew I wanted to do something that I loved and something that didn’t feel like a job and that going to work wasn’t a dreaded experience. A famous Youtuber i’ve watched for a few years (see if you can name him) once said on a video…
“You can earn a Million Dollars way faster than you can Win a Million Dollars”
and ever since I heard that, I gave up on WAITING for my big break and I just went out there and went after what I wanted!
21) ADDING THE WORD FUCK ENHANCES EVERYTHING
Fuckin’ Eh Bud?
22) TELLING SOMEONE TO CALM DOWN MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT CALM THEM DOWN
or sometimes telling someone to Calm Down gets turned into a song and it makes you millions…. hmmmm. Shout out to all my Swift Fans out there! but for reals… if you think the best way to calm someone down is telling them to calm down…. yikes. “Can You Just Not?"
23) THERE IS A GREATER PURPOSE IN LIFE OTHER THAN WORK
Having a drive and a passion for your career is great and its SO rewarding to see that drive and that effort pay off but for me, its not my only purpose in life. Does work provide me with a better lifestyle, yes of course; but
what is your lifestyle other than work!?
Now that my wife and I are expecting our first baby I sit here on my days off and I think… man I have nothing to do (sometimes this feels great) I have no one to take care of, I have no one to raise and teach morals and values too… Like I honestly cannot wait to be a dad and to do all the Family things and feel as though I’m here on this earth to raise a child!
24) WE ALL HAVE A BLIND SPOT
Nooooo this doesn’t pertain to driving.. but we all know there are some people out there that could check their fucking blind spot once in a while. No, this is about life in general. To me this phrase means that there is always a vice we have in our lives that we have a blind spot for, as in we may get into it without thinking about the consequences or thinking about how it will effect other people.
We all have that thing that we turn a blind eye to
and pretend like its not effecting us or someone else. I’m telling you to get rid of what ever is in your blind spot, just be a bit more aware of it moving forward!
25) TO LOVE SOMETHING IS NOTHING, TO BE LOVED IS SOMETHING
BUT TO LOVE AND BE LOVED IS EVERYTHING
I am SOOOO lucky that I have found a woman that loves me, I have a family that loves me and that I feel love for SOOO many people in my life! It really is a blessing to share your life with someone and to have friends and family that love and support you! We often want to pick fights with people we love because we feel so strongly about something, but its never worth diminishing the Love over something that can easily be looked over! Everyone hug your family a little tighter next time, hug your spouse a little longer, and always make sure to say I Love You!!
