I think I should watch more tennis on TV. Although I seldom allow myself the time to watch the sport I most enjoy, I’m always charged up afterwards.
I only watched two matches from the recent Wimbledon tournament – the quarterfinals match between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and the finals match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. In both encounters, not only did the underdog win, but I believe he also stunned the expected winner.
The first reason for the underdog’s success was conditioning, both physical and mental. In the Federer/Tsonga match, Federer won the first two sets (out of the best of five). He went into the match with a 178-0 record against opponents after taking the first two sets. The odds were certainly in his favor and I think he expected Tsonga to know this and give up.
The second reason that the underdogs won was attitude, or heart. Tsonga wouldn’t give up. He ran down every shot and hit amazing returns time and again. He never showed any sign of mental or physical weakness. I believe Federer was caught resting on his accomplishments and expecting his opponent to respectfully give up.
Are you willing to run all out?
In the finals, I saw the same traits in a different order. Djokovic stepped on the court to win and dominated the first two sets. When his focus blurred in the third set, Nadal seized on the lapse and won the set. A visibly shaken Djokovic recovered his mojo in the fourth set to win.
So what?
The reason I care is that I know a number of photographers, designers and myriad business people who were once at the top of their game. Not only were they winning nearly all the business that came their way, but they also captured most of the awards their industry handed out.
Then change happened. Younger players, or possibly new players displaced from another career, entered the game and caused disruptions in the rankings. The established players wanted to coast. They didn’t want to learn new technology or develop better mental, and often physical, conditioning. They wanted their achievements to be respected.
But new players want a piece of the glory. They’re often willing to work harder and smarter. They read blogs, leverage social media and go to more networking opportunities. When it comes to the crunch time, they often show more “heart.” When they do, they often win. Established players often have the attitude that younger players should wait and “pay their dues.” But players – young and old – with heart, play to win.
Where are you in your game? What are you doing to develop your conditioning? And your attitude?
Charles
Tagged as:
Attitude,
Competition,
Photography,
tennis,
Thinking,
winning
My mind is on the creative process a lot as I move through my day. As an artist, I am constantly battling with where to allocate the time for creative thinking, planning and the execution of my projects.
There are a number of titles that I’ve heard for the small business owner, including owner-operator or solopreneur. The title I’ve given myself is artist-operator because, even though I am an artist first, it’s the process of operations and sales that moves a business forward and gives a hope of being profitable. The corollary is that the operation of a business can easily overwhelm the time and space for creative work to be conceived and brought to life.
I talk with a number of creative people on a regular basis who are, in various ways, waiting for the creative “muse” to arrive and create that space in time for them, or they expect the “muse” to meet them on their journey and inspire them to produce.
I have found that the “muse” doesn’t sit and wait. Nor does it come to find us. The “muse” must be sought.
Even knowing this, I found myself grumbling recently about a self-directed project that had stalled because I was spending so much time and thought on the operations and sales processes. And then the “muse” spoke. It said, “Shut-up with the talking and come find me.” The moment I started working on the “doing” of the project rather than the “talking” about the work, the muse met me and the project was completed within days.
Julia Cameron, in her book “The Artist’s Way,” talks about the need to show up at the page. Good writing doesn’t get written unless the writer shows up at the page and writes anymore than a structure gets built without the builder showing up and building.
Are you showing up to do your work or waiting for the “muse” to find you and bring the work along?
Charles
Tagged as:
Attitude,
Creative Muse,
Creativity,
Emotions,
Thinking,
Writing
It is somewhat amazing to observe just how safe most people attempt to keep their lives. And how safety appears to be more important than anything else to them. Even though there is a great need in humans to grow, the “need” or desire to maintain safety seems to be greater.
Our economy and our times require that people grow and adapt. Everything is moving at an incredible pace and people are afraid. I understand that.
I also realize that we can’t afford to remain static.
As I meet people one-on-one and in larger groups, I often feel more energy is focused on pushing back against change rather than accepting the need to incorporate change into our comfort zones.
Trying new approaches as a means of challenging our existing patterns feels very risky as we’re doing it. We often get very little support or encouragement in the early stages of a new venture. But the greatest risk we face is not the risk itself. It’s avoiding the risk.
Charles Gupton
Tagged as:
Attitude,
Economy,
Emotions,
Relationships,
Thinking
Because I monitor a number of blogs that are directed towards the communications industry in general and photographers in particular, I see a fair number of posts and articles discussing mistakes and PR blow-ups over the use or mis-use of photographs. Many of them seem to occur through the use of royalty-free or other cheaply sourced stock photos. Often, it seems, that in the interest of trying to do too much with too little, the ultimate cost for a company is much higher than if they simply hired original photography which fit their needs exclusively.
Obviously, I have a self-serving interest in getting hired for assignments, but I earn a good portion of my living from stock images, too. My primary desire is to work with my clients to find a solution that fits their need for the best value that they can get. That is the foundation of a lasting relationship in my book.
Altered photo in Microsoft ad
In this ad, Microsoft used a poorly altered head-swap for racial considerations, an Apple computer on the table and a cord to the monitor in the foreground was left unplugged. So, what were the savings versus the costs for Microsoft?
Just food for thought…
Charles
http://www.charlesguptonphoto.com
On Twitter @ http://twitter.com/CharlesGupton
Tagged as:
Economy,
Photography,
Stock photographs,
Thinking
My mom died last week.
Her impact on my life was, of course, profound. I learned from her an attention to detail that is firmly in the camp of perfectionism, to always work hard and to always try to do the right things, morally. She also possessed an unswerving commitment to serving other people.
My mother was known for saying what was on her mind. If she thought it, she mostly said it. Without much thought for the impact it might have on the people around her. That’s a trait I’ve been working to un-learn for many years. I have come to see that truth spoken without kindness is seldom heard and, therefore, seldom helps anyone.
What has surprised me in the course of her sudden decline and death was the avalanche of thoughts and emotions that I could not sort and process. I couldn’t write. I wasn’t able to focus my attention to read. I’ve found myself needing to take care of lots of small details. Getting little things done seems to help put perspective on the larger issues.
Charles
www.charlesguptonphoto.com
Tagged as:
Emotions,
Parents,
Thinking
