It's Never Too Late
How photography completely changed my life at the age of 40.
Welcome to the first edition of Adopted Lens!
I thought what better way to start this journey than by being vulnerable enough to reveal an uncomfortable truth I was forced to deal with. In order to do this properly, I need to bring you back to the summer of 2019 (pre-pandemic).
I was 39 years old and only six months away from turning the BIG 4-0, and for some reason, life just didn’t seem to make sense. I know what you’re thinking, “mid-life crisis”, but that wasn’t the case (or at least I don’t think it was). By society’s definition, I was living a “successful life”. I owned my home, I had a loving family, I was making a good living as a creative entrepreneur and small business owner, and I was a well respected mentor in the creative community. But, even with all of those positive life achievements, I still felt like something was missing.
It was at that point I had to ask myself…
“Is there something wrong with me?”
Instead of beating myself up over it, I decided to trust my inner voice and lean into the unknown. My inner voice has never lead me astray, but the answers are not always immediate, so I had to trust the process, no matter how uncomfortable it felt.
In that discomfort, I felt very alone.
I felt lost.
But, I also felt a level of stillness that I had never felt before. In that stillness, I was able to find clarity and discover what was missing.
I HAD STOPPED CREATING FOR MYSELF.
I prioritized making money, as many of us do in order to survive, but in the process I lost the most exciting part of myself – The Artist!
Don’t get me wrong, I consider getting paid to do what I love as a Creative Director, Designer, Educator and Mentor an incredible blessing, but let’s call it what it is – I’m an artist for hire, not an artist.
Growing up as a kid, I was a natural born artist with a God given talent for drawing and painting. As a teenager in high school, I would spend countless hours in my room, drawing in my sketchbook just for fun. Thinking back now, I really miss those days. Which is why I’ve adopted Virgil Abloh’s (RIP) inspiring words as a guiding principle on my renewed life journey as an artist and photographer.
“Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself” – Virgil Abloh
It’s crazy how life works out. It took me almost my entire “career” to figure out what I was missing. Who knew I would end up right back to where it all started – making art for art’s sake and having fun while doing it.
Thanks to photography, my life has completely changed for the better. I’m now 44 years old, feeling like I’m 17 all over again!
HOW PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGED MY LIFE
Here’s a shortlist of 10 key takeaways from my journey into photography as it relates to self-discovery.
Finding purpose
Getting out of my comfort zone
Learning a new skill set
Letting go of my ego
Finding my voice
Having a greater appreciation for the little things in life
Self-confidence
Relationship building with a global community of artists
Slowing things down
Feeling re-inspired
To see what I’ve been up to as a photographer over the last couple of years, visit my website.
As promised, this newsletter is dedicated to the journey of self-discovery through the art of photography. If you’ve made it this far, there’s a good chance you can relate to what I’m saying.
If I could leave you with one thing from my first newsletter, it would be that self-discovery is not a one time thing. If you make the time and create the space for it to happen, it will happen over and over again.
Until next month, my personal CHALLENGE to you is to make time and space for your own version of self-discovery.
Peace,
PHOTO OF THE MONTH (APRIL)
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Reinvention is always possible. A great reminder that life is not a series of checklists, and true happiness doesn’t necessarily come from having those completed. ✔️