“I had every intention of starting up my photography business last year. I had the business cards. I had a website started. I had my equipment set up. I was even in the process of creating my pricing lists and brochures. Then life got in the way.”
Have you heard that phrase?
Have you used that phrase?
What does it mean … life got in the way.
People talk about “life getting in the way” all the time. The kids needed extra attention. Mom got sick and the caregiving started. The job required overtime.
But how does that allow “life to get in the way”?
Isn’t that just life in general?
The funny thing about life is it always happens. It never stands still. It never goes 100 percent the way you anticipate. Seasons move in and move out. Things change.
And that really is just what life is.
So if you use the phrase “life got in the way”, isn’t it basically an excuse for not doing something?
When you say:
“I worked a full day, only to find I had a teacher meeting with my child’s teacher after school, a phone call from my husband that we were having dinner with one of his clients, and a note from school asking for 2 dozen cupcakes for the bake sale the following day. Life got in the way and I didn’t have time to finish my brochure.”
What you are really saying is other things had more priority than finishing your brochure. It may have been work. It may have been cupcakes. It may have been your feeling of being exhausted. In any case, you allowed other things to move in front and become top priority over your need to finish your brochure.
Life is a series of priorities.
If finishing your brochure was a top priority, maybe you would have skipped lunch out with the office and spent the hour reviewing and finalizing your brochure. Or you wouldn’t have spent the hour watching your favorite show after you tucked the kids into bed. Or you would have gotten up with the alarm instead of hitting the snooze button four times.
If “life got in the way” in your past, how do you prevent it from getting in the way in the future?
Simple. It’s a series of processes.
1. Create your priority list.
I write everything down. No matter how big or small it may seem, it goes on my list or my calendar, depending on what it is. If I write it down, I see it. And if I see it, it has the biggest chance of being completed because it stares me in the face every day.
2. Label your priority list – top, middle, bottom.
Some things have a larger priority than others. If you have to do research for a client meeting this afternoon, you have to get it done before the meeting. But if its more busy work than anything, it might take on a middle or bottom ranking. Top priorities should be held for things that are truly priority; that make a difference in the success of your business.
3. Work on only your top priorities … with a deadline.
If something is top priority, it means it has the largest impact on you, your life and your business. Make sure these tasks are accomplished, no matter what. The rest can be put aside and done when you have time, or ignored all together.
That’s it.
When your photography has priority in your life, life can’t get in the way. It’s on equal grounds with everything else that comes up during your busy day.
And if life can’t get in the way this year, you’ll be that much further ahead in your plans tomorrow because you will have accomplished so much more.
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Have you been putting off your dreams of becoming a professional photographer because “life got in the way”? No more. Make today the day you do something positive and move forward with your dreams of photography. There are still a few bonus coaching sessions left – become a Five Figure Photographer today.
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