19/02/2025

Bali Sandblasting

Transforming Bali, One Blast At A Time

Beyond Your Own Borders

Beyond Your Own Borders

When I work in my studio I usually listen to radio on the Internet. My favorite station is Virgin Radio UK broadcast out of London. They play classic rock and some of the latest bands that make the work that I do even more enjoyable. I even like listening to the hilarious and thought-provoking commercials. A recent advertisement for Honda on the radio mentioned the Japanese word yumi shikada , which literally means ‘making outrageous dreams a reality.’ Many years ago I too had an outrageous dream of having a fantastic and high-quality photography show in the middle of the Nation’s Capital. I knew at that time that I needed to start small to prove the process and to gage the reaction of the patrons. Each time I assembled a show, I was humbled by amount of positive comments and by the number of people who made the effort to come out and see my work. The small victories began to add up in order to give me the confidence to keep going.

The process for my show, “This is My Place” began nearly a year and a half ago during a ‘Get Motivated’ seminar that took place across the street from the Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC at the MCI Center in early 2004. There were many speakers there, but the one that stood out amongst the rest was Zig Ziglar. His advice was feed your mind, “good, clean and pure positive thoughts and your motivation will grow and become a habit.” I took his advice to heart and one conversation led to a dozen phone calls and a few meetings. My persistence paid off when I received the official letter granting permission for the show some months later. I thought that assembling sponsors for the show would be relatively straightforward. Boy I was in for a surprise! I first had to write a photography show sponsorship proposal. This involved researching and talking to numerous people who had done something similar, but not quite the same. The proposal took weeks to write and when I was finished, my mind was fried. I hadn’t felt this way since the final exam for my statistics class in University.

My first attempt at raising money for the show proved very frustrating. After sending out dozens of official ‘Next Day’ delivery envelops and following up with many phone calls, I got nowhere. I wanted to give up and walk away from the whole process numerous times. I started to doubt the possibility of a show and even my own abilities. It was my lovely wife Linda who gave me the love, support and encouragement to keep going. She has always believed in me even when I don’t believe in myself. At about this time one sponsor said that her company would support the show if I adjusted my sponsorship levels to match their ability to donate. This same time a close business advisor told me I needed to do this show period. He said it’s not about how much money you raise, but the fact that you will did the show. I heeded this advice and sought out a coffee shop with character and totally revised my proposal. I resent the entire packet. The first sponsor came back and officially supported the show. The positive momentum began and my spirits lifted. I was able to obtain 10 major organization and corporate sponsors for my show!

The process was extremely difficult and I stretched way beyond my comfort zone (learning how to approach potential sponsors and actually raise money for a photography show). The next time I am approached with this kind of challenge, I know that I will feel that much more confident. The more we go beyond our own borders to stretch our comfort zone and even our imagination, the more we grow in the process. This isn’t going to occur when we spend too much time watching television and imaging what it would be like to live on somebody else’s reality TV show. I was reminded of stretching one’s limits with the new tag line for British Petroleum (BP), ‘beyond petroleum.’ According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal , “BP plans $8Billion Investment in Alternative-Energy Projects.” This includes such investments as solar, wind, hydrogen and carbon-abatement technology over 10 years and is among the biggest by a major oil company. Now they have to hire staff to achieve this goal.

Which comes first you might ask, the cart or the horse? In my photography show and in BP’s case the idea came first not the actual means to get there (the horse) or what to take with you (the cart). I think that the never-before-mentioned driver came first and that asking whether the cart or the horse comes first is asking the wrong question. Having the idea to think beyond your own borders is exciting and sometimes a very challenging part. Yet it is something that must be asked on a regular basis if we are going to improve our companies, our selves and our lives. One of my clients is getting into this positive habit. She recently took on a project that stretched her limits as a photographer. She is now going about the means to actually deliver on what she set out to do. She’s training her horse and loading her cart with the necessary tools to be ready for her assignment.

Just having the idea by itself isn’t enough. We need to have the right attitude or foundation. My parents built within me this foundation. I remember my parents reading me the children’s book, “The Little Engine That Could.” If you haven’t gotten it for your kids yet, I highly recommend it! The book talked about how the little blue train couldn’t get up a large hill until it changed it’s attitude to ‘I think I can, I think I can.’ There are plenty of creative people out in our world who have more ideas than I could ever catalog, but there is a definite shortage of the ‘can-do’ mentality with a smile. Even though you have an idea, it is essential to have the right attitude to go along with it. Pick an idea that you want to make a reality and start chanting the positive affirmation, ‘I think I can, I think I can.’ With a laser-like focus and a positive attitude, you will achieve the dreams you set for yourself.