Can I still be special?

Thank you to those who chimed in with great thoughts on “The Industry is DEAD” post.  I think its healthy to shake things up ever so often.

I love being comfortable, but its discomfort that often causes creativity, solutions, and out of the box thinking.

Its “resistence” as Seth Godin states, that brings opportunity to change things up.  And as Kassandra pointed out in the comments, the element of competition only makes us work harder, produce more, and improve.

But alas, I do believe in finding a balance in all things.  We can acknowledge that its a fierce world out there, that the competition is great,and if the tools are available to become great we will be expected to meet a higher standard and work hard to achieve it as the new norm…

 

but… lest anyone catch the deadly bug of “discouragement” I have one more perspective to share.

The following thoughts were originally posted one year ago on the blog.  It felt appropriate to bring them back again.

The World is Not Fed on Prize Winning Tomatoes

by Brooke Snow March 15, 2010

 

I have a confession.  I’ve allowed myself to have negative thoughts this week.  The kind of thoughts that speak in sinister tones taunting me with their criticisms of my abilities.

Perhaps they have visited you before as well.  They like to launch arrows to your ego with targeted hits like “You aren’t good enough!”  “You aren’t talented enough!”  “Your photography and success will never be as good as ‘x photographer’ !”

And that my friends is the clinching moment that all self depreciation must stop.

As I allowed myself to wallow in my weak comparison to industry greats, I was reminded of a refining lesson I experienced years ago as a musician.  Please allow me to share, as it parallels any art form and personal battle of comparisons.

Once upon a time I had a passionate dream and desire to be an amazing music composer that would write music to change the world. I wasn’t so much interested in fame and glory, as I was driven by the hope that my music would be impactive and lasting.  As an innocent undergraduate student spending hours upon hours analyzing music of the world’s greatest composers of all time, I became increasingly discouraged.

“I am never going to be as great as Beethoven?!  I will never be as intelligent as Bach!  I will never write as meaningful and moving of a work as Handel’s ‘Messiah’ ! ”

Yet, oh how I wanted to!

I had the drive and desire, but alas, I am no prodigy.

One fine afternoon as I was lamenting my prophesied future failings, my composition mentor spoke one of the most utterly plain and simple lines of encouragement and perspective.  He said,

“Brooke, the world is not fed on prize winning tomatoes.”

Disguised in his words is a lesson on the role we can each play in our own sphere of influence.

No, I will never be as prolific and intelligent as Bach.  But… not everyone in the world has access to Bach, even likes Bach, or has been influenced by Bach.  The world indeed, is “not fed on prize winning tomatoes”… but are nourished still the same by everyday plain old regular tomatoes 😉

The people we reach individually may never have access to our perceived “master artist”, but we ourselves can make a small difference to at least one person in our realm of influence.

We each have something unique to contribute to our art.  And how blessed we are to all be different!  The things we create can only be created by us… for no one else has had our own experiences, has our own heart, or our own perspective.

And as far as comparisons go?  The only healthy comparison is against ourselves.  Have I improved?  Am I doing better today than I was yesterday?

I may not be a prize winning tomato :)… but I’m hoping to shine up what I’ve got and be the best plain old regular Brooke around… and since there’s no one else exactly like me, thats totally attainable!

avatarBrooke Snow is a Lifestyle photographer in Cache Valley, Utah. Brooke welcomes comments, questions, new friendships, new clients, and new coats and hats for her growing collection.

Brooke teaches online photography courses as well as occasional photography classes in Logan, Utah.

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