“Follow your passions” said Steve Jobs at his Stanford University address. Jobs flew to success (with some bumps in the road) as CEO of Apple and Pixar.
This month we look at creativity and passions and how you can find success.
Steve Jobs’ commencement address is filled with passions and a sense of “look at what I did – you can do it, too.” There were many factors that led to his success – hard work, economic conditions and a decade bursting with massive grassroots technical development.
Success rarely comes easily. But when all factors align well, amazing things can happen!
Follow your own road or track…
It all starts with passion.
Without passion Steve Jobs, Wayne Gretzky and Yousuf Karsh would never have reached the heights of their respective careers. Sometimes passions take people down less commercial roads – photography, artwork, model airplanes. And sometimes decades of hard work are discovered well after the fact… as in the case of Vivian Maier.
What am I saying?
When you find something you love, pursue it in a way that you can sustain. Macrophotography, film, watercolours, writing, reading, beekeeping…
Find a way to keep the passion burning and keep working on your fun. Not necessarily every day, or every week… but keep chasing what excites you and experiment at new levels.
There will be naysayers.
And many reasons to stop.
As long as your passion makes you smile find ways to keep it up! As David Trattles kept telling me: “Surround yourself with supportive people.”
Pro Perspective
My early working passion was creating commercial art for the stock photo market – it was great! I developed and executed creative photo ideas and licensed them through two agencies.
An early stock photo that helped me secure my first agency – they hired me based on my whitewater paddling photos – an early photographic passion.
My greatest single sale of a single image was $32,000 – split between myself and two agencies. As technology developed the traditional stock market dwindled and I looked for other creative outlets.
I started developing my Watershed project – it’s been 14 years of creative exploration and innovations.
I also get bored if I don’t have something exciting to work on – Last year I built my own large format camera and experimented with two processes that are on the fringe of photography:
• SunStreak series
• Watershed Originals – straight from the camera.
Homework
Follow your passions. Keep shooting (or painting or bee-keeping!) Do it for the fun.
Final Frame
Join us as we present the culmination of 15 years of my creative passions: June 21, 22, 2014 Booth #79 The New Art Festival Central Park Glebe, Ottawa.
My passion – Original, one-of-a-kinds – straight from the camera – 8×10 film camera