Passion and Discipline For FUN & Photography Business Success!

winged_heart_400_clr_8867I am passionate about my family, and fun….  and, yes, my business.

For fun, I LOVE flying remote control airplanes and helicopters.  I love the science of flight, and the discipline that it takes to fly.

Years ago I got my pilots license,  just for fun, and to prove to myself that I had the discipline to accomplish it.  The cost of renting a plane made it something that I did not follow up with after earning my license, but I loved learning how to fly.

So, I turned to RC planes, and loved it as well.  (Let’s face it, remote-control planes are a lot less expensive than their life-size counterparts!)  The next challenge was RC helicopters.  I quickly learned that they were much harder to fly, but the challenge was great fun.

I have  large, medium, and small helicopters, much to my wife Cheri’s concern.  They take up  most of our basement.  But, since I love it, and she loves me, we have come to an agreement.  I keep them out of her way, and don’t crash them in to our house, and she doesn’t complain about them.

The discipline is  part of what I enjoy about RC flying.  You must keep your eye on the plane or helicopter at all times, so that you do not lose your place in the sky.  With planes, because they are further away, it is easy to lose track of whether you are right side up, or inverted.

You certainly don’t want to try to land when your plane is upside down!  Having the discipline to learn to fly (and land) properly has allowed me to have hundreds of hours of FUN with my planes and copters.

Discipline is important in any business as well.  There are parts of any job that are not our favorites.  But they need to be done anyway if we are to succeed.  Many of my students do not like to find ways to reach new potential clients.  Photography marketing is not as much fun as the actual photography itself, but, no photography marketing = no clients to photograph.

  I had to discipline myself to schedule time to work on the marketing each week, in order to get it done, and it paid off.

Our son and business partner Todd is also an actor, and has his own murder mystery company.  Writing, producing, and acting in the mysteries is much more fun for him than the marketing of them, but, no marketing, no murder mysteries to perform.   He understands this, and has developed the DISCIPLINE to make sure to put as much time and effort into marketing his shows as he does performing them.  He’s actually told me that he enjoys the marketing and selling of the mysteries now just as much as performing them – just like he loves the marketing of our photography business.

It is the same any where, both in business and in Life.  Discipline is important.   So, in encourage you, if you have not done so already, to set aside at least ONE FULL DAY A WEEK to devote to your marketing.   That may seem like a lot, but if you don’t do it, you simply won’t be staying in business as a photographer.  Have the discipline to make that happen, and watch your photography business grow like never before.   It happened to me, and it can happen to you.

And, hey, for fun – I recommend flying RC planes and helicopters!   Fun, and a great exercise in discipline!

Talk more soon…

Charles J. Lewis
M. Photog., Cr.

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2 Responses to Passion and Discipline For FUN & Photography Business Success!

  1. November 14, 2013 at 10:21 am

    Chuck,
    I also love to fly RC planes. I have a shop full of them. Not much into the
    helicopters. My planes are almost all nitro fuel with just a couple of electrics. Hey, If your not doing anything this Saturday hope on over to Jamestown, ND for our indoor electric fun fly. (Like your not doing anything)
    Keep your wings in the air, feet on the ground, and the camera clicking.

    David

    • November 14, 2013 at 11:33 am

      Hi David!

      It’s great fun, isn’t it?!?! And thanks for the invite, wish I could make it – sounds like great fun!

      All the best,

      Chuck

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