Taking A Quick Break // Personal

Although it's hard for me to practice what I preach, I truly am a firm believer in taking a break from things you do over and over again. Doing what I love is truly a blessing, but with it comes the responsibility to make sure I continue to love what I do by not getting burnt out.

I can't imagine ever getting tired of meeting new people. I don't think that seeing the love that is so evident at weddings will ever get old. The genuine laughter of couples and families absolutely brings joy to my life in a way I can't describe.

Sometimes, though, the things that surround what we do are more draining than the actual work. Social media is both one of the best and worst things for my business. It allows me to publish my work to the world, to reach people I never could have otherwise, and connect with the amazing couples and families that allow me into their lives for a day, a month, or years. At the same time, it can be so draining and distracting. Seeing what every other photographer does is both inspiring and tiring, because the only person I should ever compare myself to is who I used to be, and who I want to become. The distraction is completely my fault - it's so easy to jump on any one of my social networks to check it. Even if I don't get sucked in for a long time, it breaks my rhythm completely, and disrupts my workflow.

For this reason, I'm taking a short break from social media. I have a number of days in mind that I want to be out, but I'm not going to hold myself to something strict. I need time to not look at what others are doing. I need time to learn how to completely focus my attention on what I'm doing and not constantly be distracted. I just need time away.

I'm grateful beyond words for the ability to connect with people every single hour of the day, and I can't wait to do it in a new, fresh, and healthy way when I return.

Lessons Learned from...Google? // Spady Sunday

Let me preface this by saying that I am a TOTAL nerd when it comes to the things I love. I could read about the great debate on Nikon vs. Canon all day long (though clearly Nikon is the winner) and I really don't mind getting into the details of social media, blogging, SEO, and everything else that comes along with running a small business. So I research constantly. I am always reading about the next big thing, or how Google changed their search algorithm, or how Facebook changed EdgeRank...I know all of that might be a foreign language to you, but I love it!

Because I'm in that world so much, I've seen some really great things and some really bad things come out of social media and the new world we live in. But one of the most striking things to me is how quickly technology will catch up on us, kick our butt, and leave us in the dust if we aren't paying attention. Case in point: Google.

Obviously, Google is THE dominant search engine. I'm actually fairly sure it's now in the dictionary as the synonymous word for searching (and no, I'm not being sarcastic). A few years ago, Google revolutionized the online industry and made information SO accessible to us that it really shifted the landscape of the world we live in. We can find out ANYTHING just by searching it, and do just that dozens of times per day.

But a funny thing happened to Google: they missed out big on the next big thing. Since I don't personally know anyone there, I can't pinpoint exactly what happened - whether it was from a pride stance (we're already the best!) or just from a stance that they totally missed out but whatever the case, social media truly snuck up on Google, and that has ended up being a huge blind spot and weakness for them.

Don't get me wrong. Google is still wildly successful, and I don't think it will ever die out. But more and more, studies show that people are turning to social media for their recommendations rather than searching the web. We are far more likely to connect with images than words, and Bing has done this with their homepage. In so many ways, Google is fast becoming old news. Sure, they tried to catch up with Google Plus, but few people understand how to use it, and Google itself is still trying to figure it out. I have a Google Plus page, but haven't seen much on the social spectrum of social media happening. And it's not just me...check out this chart on how much time people spend on each  social media network per month.

Credit: socialmediatoday.com

I could talk for days but my point is this: if in our jobs, or our dreams, or whatever we're doing, we get content with where we are, we will quickly get left behind. If we are not ACTIVELY seeking to grow, learn, discover new methods, and be better tomorrow than we are today, we will get left in the dust. Sure, we may pick up money/success/fame along the way but there will be no longevity to our work if we don't stay on top of what is going around outside of us.

I urge you to not be satisfied with good enough. Don't settle for doing a good job, or even a great job, because tomorrow your job may be given to somebody or something else better. Learn. Grow. Discover new techniques and methods. Don't be afraid of research and a lot of sweat and tears poured into this dream or job you have before you see it take off. And when you do be content, but don't be satisfied. Be happy with where you are, but keep seeing where you need to go to maintain what you want to do in 5, 10, or 15 years from now. Because if you don't, you'll wake up and realize that someone who started a lot later worked a lot harder than you did and not only caught up with you, but left you behind. And I don't want that to happen to me! So go forth, dream big, conquer the world, and WORK HARD to make sure you stay on the top of your game!

Happy Sunday everyone!