Loving What You Do
In 2022, I shared a post on my Facebook page that was recently “liked” by someone, which triggered my Notifications and brought me back to re-reading what I had shared at the time, which was before I had this website. After seeing that post again, I felt that this may be a good blog to share.
At times, we need to be reminded that putting how much we know about our craft in front of how much we care about doing what we do can really “rub” others the wrong way, whether we do it intentionally or not. I have met many talented people in the course of my journeys, and many do what they love because of how much they care about their craft. Conversely, I have met some who are quick to belittle others and fight to have their knowledge of what they do rise above everyone in the room; to me, this is not only a waste of everyone’s time, but rather obvious symptom of an ego problem that I would not want to have on a project that I am working on with someone, as I would interpret their behavior as them wanting to make everything about themselves.
I have modified some of the wording in the blog (as compared to the original Facebook post) solely with the intent to convey my thoughts a little more clearly, so if you visit my Facebook page and see variations here relative to that post, then please know that’s why, and that the end message for both is still the same. With that said, I hope you’ll find this blog enjoyable, and perhaps even inspirational.
“Your customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” ~Damon Richards
I strive to put my best into my work. I realize and accept that I am not as crafty as others in the worlds of photography and filmmaking, and that suits me just fine. There is an old adage that goes, “practice makes perfect.” Respectfully, I disagree with this. Perfection is unattainable; we will receive praise for our works just as we will receive negative criticism. Don’t get me wrong - practice is a key element to refinement of our art, but we should never expect to be “perfect.” Personally, I am constantly and unashamedly learning and relearning my crafts, whether it’s by adapting to the discovery of new techniques or through refining of older ones, not to mention everything else between & around that. It is my philosophy that one can gain mastery of their craft by allowing themselves to keep their minds as open as beginners: stay in love with *why* you do what you do, keep learning, and never stop growing during your journey.
In our daily lives, there are many important elements that I feel we should integrate into our emotions and skills. Of the countless elements that could be considered, there are at least two I believe that are paramount for an artist: patience, and acceptance. The first of these is a crucial element. We have to honestly understand that we are not perfect, and that even the greatest people of our craft(s) have experienced failures. I have shot probably thousands of pictures and have filmed hundreds of hours of video, only to yield maybe a handful of “useful” materials. Never forgetting the why of doing what I do is helpful, but keeping patient in knowing that I am capable of producing a beautiful outcome is an important resource for growth.
The second element is acceptance. As an artist, it is essential to not just claim that you understand that not everyone will enjoy your work, but you have to absorb that pretty deeply into your psyche. We live in a world of yin and yang, where positivity’s nemesis is negativity; as an artist, you willbe criticized. I have experienced a spectrum of criticism on the works I have created, from polite and supportive comments to harshly negative words. Admittedly, the negative words used to make me wonder if I should continue to do what I love since what I created brought about such negativity. That negativity toward myself would only last for as long as until I realized that I had, in essence, actually answered my own question: “I should continue to do what I love.” In order to do that, then I had to find a way to overcome all forms of negativity and keep moving forward. What has helped me is to understand that no matter how good an artist’s work is, it will never be appreciated by everyone, and that’s ok. As artists, we’re actually in good company: Eve Arnold, Ansel Adams, Akira Kurosawa, and Stanley Kubrick, are just a fraction of artists whose works are undisputed, yet have received harsh criticism.
To stem further into the element of acceptance, I realize how tempting it is to want to fire back at those who criticize us, whether their words were harsh or not. Marcus Aurelius once said, “the best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” We should all be like Marcus. Creatives cannot - and will not - please everyone with their works, and there is no sense in trying to fight with anyone and try to change their mind once it’s already made-up. So, be the better person: thank them for their opinion, and keep moving forward, because you have more great work to do.
To wrap this into Damon Richards’ quote that I used to open this dialog, please don’t get me wrong: I do support gaining of knowledge as an element to one’s artistic growth. It is unavoidable that we will gain knowledge of whatever we are practicing; there is a lot to be said for experience, and yet not enough could ever be said for it. However, and perhaps it’s just my opinion, placing knowledge in front of the care and love for what we do can quickly overshadow the *why* we do what we love; doing this tends to make someone come across as clinical, demeaning, and egotistical, and these qualities can quickly turn someone off from wanting to work with you.
Be open and kind toward all, always remember why you love to do what you do, and keep moving forward. There is no better recipe for success than this.
