I Love Syl
I’ve posted about Syl Arena before (it’s there, it’s there; don’t make me go look, though) and I’m posting about him again because he seems to know exactly what I need to learn at the moment. The dude rocks!
You know, there are times when you take chances for personal reasons. There are times when you take chances for professional reasons. And there are times when you take chances just because your gut says, “GO!” And so we do. Every single one of Syl’s lessons has a brilliant combination of personal, professional, and instinctive heft. Reading him, I feel like anything’s possible.
Here’s a brief excerpt from lessons 66-70:
As you venture on, when you’re tempted to chase someone else’s success, remind yourself that if you follow their path too long, you’ll lose track of where you left yours.
Sometimes “good enough” is better than “the best”. …Having the best (aka: most expensive) gear or producing the best (aka: most technically complex) photo is not always the best (aka: most beneficial) way to go. …“Good enough” does not always come in second behind “the best”.
It takes guts to open yourself to the criticism of others. “I may be good, but I’m not as good as I can be” is a hard thing to say with confidence and enthusiasm. The more you are able to open yourself to commentary, the better you’ll become. Actors have directors. Writers have editors. Athletes have coaches. Pro and amateur alike – we all need to make ourselves vulnerable to the criticism of qualified observers. Doing so is a sign of strength. Not doing so allows fear to win.
I highly recommend you read Lessons I Didn’t Learn in Photo School, non-photographers included (see the third paragraph in the blockquote). There’s something for everyone. There is. Really. Oh, and do yourself a favor and subscribe to his feed.
Read them all. Some really good stuff.
Comment by Jan — 2009/06/11 @ 11:57