Photographer Charles Lewis’ Observations About Business and Life

According to many members of my Inner Circle (Charles Lewis Inner Circle), lots of what I teach is immediately transferable to LIFE, in general.  The system of building a successful business is pretty much the same as building a successful life.

As a human being, I have spent many years observing life and businesses.  So, as a human being, I, along with my dog (not a human being) Fred, have decided to blog together about both.  Fred doesn’t know as much about business as I do, but she is smart, and I am sure can contribute something eventually.

As a business consultant, specifically photography sales and marketing, along with LIFE in general, I have observed a great deal about loyalty.  How important it is, and how rare.

Fred with her taped up Frisbee

Fred with her taped up Frisbee

Fred is loyal in every way.  Probably most dogs are.  But I enjoy how loyal Fred is, even to her toys.  She loves her Frisbee, even at the old age of 14, she still loves to catch the Frisbee.  Throw and catch, thrown and catch, you get the idea.  In the photograph in this post, you can see the condition of Fred’s favorite toy.  Complete with the duct tape holding it together.  We have bought several new Frisbees, of different colors for Fred, because we are afraid that the cracked one will hurt her mouth (yes, Fred is a girl dog).  I throw it and Fred just sits next to me with that great dog look on her face, that clearly says, “what is that thing?”  And “Why are you throwing it away, although I don’t want it either.”

After about 5 throws of the new Frisbee, I finally get the idea.  Fred is loyal to her toy of many years, no matter how old, battered, and broken it is.  It has given her many years of faithful fun, and she sees no reason to move on to any other toy.  That is the way that I want to be in both my business and in LIFE.  I want to appreciate what has been good, dependable, and there for me and my family over the years.

I am loyal to a cruise line that we have used many times, restaurants with good food and great service, the bank that knows us by name when we walk in, local book stores that greet us when we come in, by name, and small mom and pop local stores that take the extra time with their customers.

Close-up of Fred's Taped Up Frisbee

Close-up of Fred’s Taped Up Frisbee

Life is full of great things that have a loyal following, even after many, many years.  Small things like great old buildings (great architecture and great stories to tell), wonderful old movies that keep being shown year after year, gaining new audiences through exposure by loyal audiences, and wonderful family recipes used faithfully at holiday tables thru generations.  Human beings and dogs of all ages can find loyalty a wonderful part of LIFE, and an extremely important part of building any business.

I am very loyal to some of my mentors.  Walt Disney, for example, even though he passed away long ago.  I have learned so much from him about goal setting, having a dream, determination, and surrounding yourself with positive people.  Our family travels to Disney parks several times each year, and have for many years, and we always enjoy, and learn about how a great business should be run. In my teaching and consulting, I use many of Walt’s teachings with my  business and photography students, about how to build a successful photography business.

Fred loves Disney too, even though she spends most of her time laying on the dash of our motor home, watching the tourists go by.  She just loves being with us.

LIFE – to both Fred and myself, is about loyalty.

 

 

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Creativity International / Charles Lewis Photography PO Box 848, Ada, MI 49301 | 616-868-0373