Only YOU Can Make S%#@ Happen!

It's a new decade, and I'm ready to rock. Maybe that sounds cliche, but the last couple years of my life have I've learned that "I" am the only one that can decide make things happen for myself. I don't mean that in the "I am God and I decide all" sense by any stretch. What I do mean is that "I" meaning me, you, or whoever you are, am the only ones who can make the internal decision to pursue our passions with full hustle and work to make them happen. I approach my life in the lifestyle design sense in that crafting the lifestyle you want takes an approach of design, making conscious decisions to work hard, and sacrifice where needed to make your desired lifestyle priorities happen. My good friend Joy recently tweeted "good things come to those who don't wait & just make it happen." which sums this mantra up. I've realized that making things happen comes through your approach of moving through the world. We all have fears, insecurities, and issues, but in the end, it is all up to us to make the decision to approach life in the offense position.

My homey Jeff Holt turned me on to this book "Crush It"(an easy 130 page read), which speaks exactly to this point. The driving message of the book being "Make the decision to live your passion whole heartedly no matter what it is because in this day in age if you do it right, you can monezite it" but the point is that it has to be your passion. This idea resonates in one of my favorite quotes by Confucius "Choose a job you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." With technology these days, you can make a living creating a business out of anything you want to. You just have to have the ambition and hustle to do it. Now, I never said this would be easy, but if you are truly pursuing what you are passionate about then it will never feel like work. I feel lucky enough to do what I do. In reality? I work probably 60-80 hours a week without a blink of an eye. The thing is, I feel like my life is a vacation. (which many of my friends think it is too) The process to design this lifestyle took a big transitions, living my passion, and sacrificing like hell to get to this point, and it's an ongoing process.

Another key to making things happen is to surround yourself with the people that are motivated hustlers. The people that inspire you to be a better person, to be better at what you do, how you approach life. Your support system is key, but this in itself is a conscious decision to surround yourself with these people, and on the flip side, what are you doing to inspire others to want to hang out with you? I think attitude is a key factor. People like to spend time with other people that inspire, and encourage. Some have different styles of being more vocal, or just being inspiring by what they do. In fact, to me the act of "Doing" inspires the hell out of me. A big reason for my move to New York. My level of influence of people doing amazing things, hustling, and succeeding has upped significantly. Something that this city has in it's DNA. I'm a firm believer in moving the things and people in your life that bring you down, drain you, hold you back, etc. out of your life, or to a minimum. I believe in helping others and giving back as much as possible as well. Only you know when you're being the influencer or being influenced though. Take the victim role and you'll never get anywhere in life.

It's funny how conversing about these things brings with like minded friends creates inspiration and opportunities. I know many people have asked if I do workshops and such, and at this point I haven't planned any, but I will be guest speaking at my good friend Lara Casey's Make It Happen NYC seminar in March. I been hearing rave reviews from the last few. This seminar is for anyone in any industry wanting to "make it happen". Check out the seminar details here.

What do I want out of 2010? A well balanced passionate life with great people, great food, and great wine. I want to be a better photographer, grow my business, start more business, build better relationships, and much more. Live life for the epic moments. Life is short and who knows how long it will be.