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I don’t know how else to say this.

You can’t make waves without pissing somebody off.

People like the pool the way it is. Calm. Still. Warm.

So when you jump in and make waves and knock someone of their comfortable, blue, inflatable floaty, they are not going to happy about that. They want you to take the steps. To climb in slow so you don’t disturb the calmness of the waters. Too bad for them them though, right? You’re more determined than that. You’re jumping in.
Make-Waves

We’re not trying to make people mad on purpose. But it’s going to happen. People are going to have an opinion of you once you step foot in their market. You may as well jump in and make waves. If they fall of their comfortable floaty, it’s their own damn fault.

Happy Tuesday!

Chris

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Jen and I are starting week three of a super awesome challenge called The Amazing 12. Essentially you lift things and eat well for 12 weeks and come out on the other side looking awesome and ripped. Three weeks in, I’m down 11 pounds and I’m starting to see real changes in my physique. Anyway, when our friend Dave told us about it and how it all works, I was hesitant to commit. His response, “You can do anything for 12 weeks.”

We’ve heard this before right? You can do anything for (x) amount of time. The problem is not knowing that though. The problem is actually seeing it through. It’s the short-term loss, long-term gain strategy. Sacrifice for a short period of time to fix the problem and you can actually get to where you want to be faster and stay there for a longer amount of time.

Time and time again this has proven to be the best strategy to make real change and to form new habits.

– If you want to get out of debt, stop going out eat for a few months and stick to a budget: Short-term sacrifice, long-term gain.

– If you want to get fit and lose weight, work out everyday for a few months and eat better foods with less sugar and carbs: Short-term sacrifice, long-term gain.

– If you want to build a successful business from nothing, take the time to hustle on it now and it will likely happen faster and the lessons you learned will help to make sure you succeed for longer. (or make it clear that you should pursue something else. Either way, you win.) : Short-term sacrifice, long-term gain.

Instead of doing this though, most of us take the New Years Resolution approach and start with an empty goal and kinda fizzle out before we actually hit a stride. That has never worked. It will never work.

If you want to enact real change in some area of your life and work:

Decide you want a change to happen.
Commit.
Put in the work now.
Develop habits and systems that ensure you never have to do this again.

The good news: you can do anything for (insert amount of time here). When will you start?

Challenge:

OK, so since I’m embarking on a 12 week challenge, who else wants to join in? Tell me about something you’d like to change, and let’s hear a plan to make some serious progress over the next twelve weeks.

#dowork12weeks

Happy Monday.

Chris

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  • darlas parrow - I am going to hustle my business! Schedule workshops, take hubs out for coffee, create content! Work my butt off!ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - That sounds awesome, Darla! Lots of goodness on that list 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Kip - This is excellent advice Chris! Love the blog!ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - Thanks for reading, Kip! Hope you’re doing well!ReplyCancel

  • Terry Neuzil - The motivation I need for weight loss! Thanks ChrisReplyCancel

Tuesday feels good. The skies are clearing after the crazy storms here last night and the coolness of fall lingers behind.

On quick thought today: Not enough time = Not an excuse.

People who get stuff done don’t have all this extra time that you don’t have. No, they have the same 24 hours in their day as you do. Think about that for a second.

You have the same 24 hours as authors who are putting out a book a year.
Why don’t you have time to write a book?

You have the 24 hours that your favorite podcast has that airs a new episode every week.
Why don’t you have to time to record a podcast?

You have the same 24 hours as that person who gets to travel and go to interesting places.
Why don’t you have time to travel?

Excuses are lies we tell ourselves so that it doesn’t have to be our fault. The truth is we choose how we spend our time every day. The things you really want to do, get done. The rest is lost to our excuses.
Excuses-are-lies

Don’t let time be an excuse. Because no one person has more than the other. Choose to spend it how you really want to spend it.

Happy Tuesday!

Chris

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work-podcast

Hey Guys! So if you subscribe to my blog, you already know that I launched the first episode of The Work Podcast over the weekend! I’m so stoked to be able to share it with you guys and excited about doing more in the future. This is meant to bring you awesome content from interviews with other creatives and entrepreneurs,  to book overviews… and any other crazy ideas that come to mind.

Mark-Brown-Podcast-Interview

On this episode, I talk with my friend Mark Brown from Notes-to-Self.com. We get into several subjects throughout the interview but mostly we stick to:

Finding purpose.

Maintaining focus in your work.

The importance of creative accountability.

I especially like what Mark had to say about that last one.

OH! Mark Brown and his Wife Amy Lynn have a book out called Zen Pig! It’s a children’s book that focuses on teaching kids the value of things like: Compassion, Presence, and intention. I know I could use more of that! It’s brilliant and beautiful and you should buy one… or ten! Each copy purchased gives 10 people clean water for a year. 10 copies buys 100 people clean water for a year. 100 people for a YEAR!

No brainer. Here’s the link: http://www.zenpigbook.com/

So here it is, the first of many,

The Work Podcast: Episode 1.01, Interview with Mark Brown

 

Let me know what you think!

Chris

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“We wear busy like a badge of honor.”- Jon Acuff

I felt that this topic needed a little more attention. Like I said yesterday, it’s a busy season for most of us. For most wedding photographers, spring and fall are the times where we spend more time in front of a screen than we do shooting. It’s two of the most exhilarating times of the year but to most creatives it is the one where we have the most work. Is this ok?

It all depends on whether or not you are making time for the things that really matter to you. Like I said yesterday, work-life balance is not a thing. Total balance is unachievable. If you commit to pursuing one thing, you will inevitably have to say no to something else. So we have to make sure the things we keep saying yes to are important to us, and just keep going.

Because we literally can’t do it all.

My friend Amy pointed out yesterday that our culture is obsessed with busy. We walk around with a false sense of busy just so we can keep telling people we’re busy. Even if it’s not really true.

I don’t want to be obsessed with busy. But I do think truly busy times are inevitable if we’re going to be committed to pursuing something that matters. We’re going to hit a season when things are a little busier than might be comfortable for us. When we hit those busy times, we have to be careful to choose to do the things we said were important to us. I won’t be busy for busy’s sake. But I’ll take the busy season so long as I’m getting to do the things that mean the most to me.
dealing-with-busy-times

Don’t wear busy like a badge of honor. Wear it when you have to and even then, make time for the things that matter.  As long as we’re doing that, then busy is good:)

So… question: What are your thoughts on being busy? What are some common pitfalls for you when a busy season hits?

In other words, what takes the hit first when you get busy? Your health? Your eating habits? Your relationships? Your work?

Pay attention during this season of busy and see which one of these things are hurting the most. Then do something about. Because you’re never too busy to stop and change something. So don’t tell yourself that you are.

Happy Friday!

Chris

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