Most times I feel like running when what I should be doing is stepping in.

I'm talking about fear, the things that scare us. Those situations that put us back into our animalistic response mechanism of fight or flight. I'll be honest, most times I want to fly far far away. I put that difficult email off for weeks, I sit on that big proposal, I hope for the voicemail rather than a voice with that call that is scary to make. Why do we do that? Why do we run when what we should be doing is stepping in? 

Over the past couple of weeks I have had to do some things that I fear. I have been forced to step into my fear in these situations and every time I come out on the other side of it saying, 'now that wasn't so bad.' One of my favorite authors, Seth Godin, calls this fear instinct the resistance or the lizard brain in his book Linchpin. Godin describes this part of us like this, "The lizard brain will fight if it has to, but would rather run away. The lizard brain cares what everyone else thinks, because status in the tribe is essential to it's survival. The lizard brain is the reason why we're afraid, the reason we don't do all of the art we can, it is the source of the resistance." The resistance is that little voice that tells us to be careful, go slow, compromise. It keeps us from shipping & finishing our projects/ it keeps us from making difficult decisions.

I think it's so important that we be aware of the resistance in our lives. Fear will ALWAYS hold us back from accomplishing the many things we are capable of. So recently, I have made a conscious decision (that I continue to struggle with) to punch fear in the face :) And instead of caving under it's pressure, I choose love, I choose freedom. I choose to stand up for myself in the face of those daunting projects and just check them off my list even when it's hard. The sad truth is if we are not consciously making a decision to fight we will inevitably let fear rule in us and flight will win. I want to exceed my potential not just live up to it, and in order to do that fear must become less and courage must become more. 

Wendy Laurel is a hippy child at heart :) I love her for that. Wendy is a photographer based in Maui and when we posted our travel schedule saying we would be in Maui to shoot a wedding, Wendy reached out about doing a mentor session with us while we were on the island. We had an awesome day with Wendy! What an incredible person with endless potential. 

Chris and I were so excited to dig into Wendy's business with her for an all day mentor session. When we asked Wendy what makes her stand out from other photographers she answered with "my photos are not timid." I am so in love with that answer. Wendy knows who she is and her photos are honest and interesting. So much of this business is not about knowing all the right "rules," (because the truth is that there aren't any), but rather about knowing yourself, trusting your vision and putting it into the world un-apoligetically. 

During our time together we talked about marketing/branding, shooting for yourself, harnessing your vision, getting published, processing, workflow among a gamut of other things. It is so cool to see people get so excited about the new levels that they can take their shooting and business to. After our time together, we went to Wendy's site and blog only to discover she had applied many of the pieces of advice that Chris and I gave her during our critique. I would encourage you to read through Wendy's recent post on why she is a photographer... I found it to be a beautiful peek into her heart as a person and artist. 

I was so excited to meet Anda. I checked out her blog before she came out to Seattle for her photography mentor session and I could already tell that this girl and I see the world from similar perspectives. Anda is so very talented, and sees the world as her playground. Nothing is impossible for Anda. She understands the great value of working hard and the joy in pursuing passion- what an amazing combo. 

Anda is currently living in Madison, WI and is blowing up just two years in. Anda is one of those extraordinary people that just jumps out of the boat! Many people are too scared to throw themselves into the fire but that is where we learn and grow the most. It was our joy and honor to spend the day with Anda. Her spirit and energy are captivating- here are a few frames from our mini session with her.

This week is a crazy one for us. I'm hosting and attending Jesh de Rox's workshop here in Seattle. I'm really looking forward to being challenged to think in a new way- that is what Jesh is best at :) Tata for now!