Five Things to Help Finish the Year Strong

Art Model, Chloe Ann, © 2017 Terrell Neasley

"Procrastination is like a credit card: it's a lot of fun until you get the bill." 

~ Christopher Parker

On September 1st, there will be only 121 days remaining in the year. Where has the time gone? Two-thirds of 2023 is already relegated to our past. Pretty soon the year will be over. So here's a challenge for you. How much can you get done in 4 months? What significant achievement can you accomplish before the end of the year? You can measure that in money, as in how much can you make, but I think focusing on the cash is a mistake for a lot of people. Tis' better to focus on the goals. Be better and the money will follow. Never chase the dollar. But that's just my take. You have 4 months. What else can you learn in your area of expertise that can expand your business services?

Here's why I'm asking. Most of us usually enter a new year, thinking about what we hope to accomplish, resolutions, and where we want to be. And then that year closes and we're wondering where the time went so fast. Very soon, it will be 2024 and you're gonna be surprised that 2023 has already gone. All those goals and ambitions are just going to have to be reiterated in January and you'll once again promise to redouble your efforts. But lets be honest with ourselves. Didn't we say the same thing when 2022 ended?

Art Model, Chloe Ann, © 2017 Terrell Neasley

So here are five things you can do to help you maximize these last 4 months of 2023 that might help you break even or possibly get the jump on 2024.

1. Change your environment, friends, and habits. 

Change is the name of the game. You have four months left. You can't continue doing things the same way you did for last eight months. Switch things up. A new perspective can be the answer. Start by working in a new place. If you have work on your laptop in front of the TV, cut that shit out. Move! Find a new office place. Preferably a quiet, non-distracting space. 

Let your friends know you have urgent business to handle, so you won't be taking calls or texts, can't go out, and NO, they can't swing by. In fact, start hanging around some people you KNOW are more responsible. Tell them your goals for these next four months and let them help you be accountable. But whatever you do, don't become that distracting friend to them! Because they will let you know... they have urgent business to handle and won't be taking your calls or texts, can't go out with you, and NO, you can't swing by.

Take an inventory of the things you do throughout the day. I know you take a 2-hour lunch because you feel you deserve it... but DO YOU? Probably not, because you haven't been getting things done for 8 months. You need some new habits. Look at the things you do throughout the day... make that list. Cut out the things that you know dam well don't matter. And when I say cut, I mean cut ruthlessly and mercilessly. The stakes are high! Priorities matter. FOUR MONTHS! And truthfully, it's not 4 months because you know you're going to ease up right after Thanksgiving. The Christmas Spirit starts on December 1st and you start feeling the need to ease up and be flexible. So get on it now! Cut out redundant tasks. Eliminate daily routines that have nothing to do with advancing your business.

Art Model, Chloe Ann, © 2017 Terrell Neasley

2. Get rest, eat better, and drink more water.

Think about getting up early in the morning. You can go to bed whenever you wish, but set that clock to rise up at a specific time, earlier than when you normally get up. If you have a day job, it doesn't matter. Get up an hour earlier and plan out the day. Have some breakfast that you know will help your brain and body. Your typical heavy pancake, bacon, and eggs are NOT it! And I can tell you, I love me some pancake, eggs, and bacon! Forget McDonalds. Fix a meal that gives your brain energy and helps sustain your body for the day's task. Google it!

Start exercising! It really doesn't matter what it is. Get up at 4 am and go for a walk or do floor exercises. It doesn't have to be much and you don't need a gym membership. A 30-minute time set aside to start the day will do the trick. An hour would better. If you live in an area that allows you to see some nature, GREAT! I loved that about Las Vegas. I could walk in any one of a plethora of municipal parks in my area. Lone Mountain is a 30-minute hike to the top.  Exercising will also make your body demand more rest. So don't be surprised when your body wants to go to bed earlier in anticipation for that earlier wake up.  Don't deny that call for rest. The worst thing you can do is to not listen to your body and instead stay up late on social media. 

Art Model, Chloe Ann, © 2017 Terrell Neasley

Drink water! That can't be emphasized enough. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Never let your brain NEED water. Give it water before it feels like it needs water. My mom has her tricks so she remembers to drink water. You can come up with your own. So drink plenty of water. Not coffee. Not soda. WATER! Get water IN you and get water ON you. What am I talking about? Showers! Increase the number of showers you take. Not just for hygienic purposes, but for creative purposes. People get their best ideas in the shower! More showers equates to more opportunities to have great ideas. I think that makes sense.

"It always seems impossible until it's done." 

~ Nelson Mandela

3. Make each decision you choose take you closer to your goals. 

Ask yourself... "How does another trip to Zion National Park help my portfolio?" OR "How does shooting this project for free add to my business?" You may in fact, realize that Zion shots are everywhere and it could be that shooting in the Mojave National Reserve could be a fresher look for you. OR, maybe you can shoot Zion from a different perspective that renews people's interest in your work, like during the winter. It might be more beneficial for you to decline free projects. Exposure and Photo Credits, do not pay the bills. However, if its a volunteer project and you deem there is a high propensity to be introduced to a new demographic of clientele, it could be worth it. But for me, I treat doing free projects like I do lending money. I may do it, but I never ever expect to get my money or anything else back.

4. Break up big jobs into bite-size tasks.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Highly overused, but never more true. Somethings you need to do this year may be overwhelming, daunting, or nigh improbable. I used to do project management gigs and LORD! Everything... even small tasks, gets broken down into actionable steps with estimated timelines. I remember making Gantt charts of Project initiation, planning, execution, and monitoring. It would detail who was responsible for each task and give an expected start and completion date. You may not require anything that elaborate, but breaking hard tasks down into several simple and achievable check-box items can help change how you feel about a big daunting task.

Art Model, Chloe Ann, © 2017 Terrell Neasley

5. Side-train on something you know will be useful later. 

Those first 4 items are mostly defensive options... ways to avoid procrastination and stimulate creativity. But it's good to also be more proactive and set yourself up in a good position for the upcoming year. Stay abreast of the latest photo news and developments. Find out how AI affects your business. Can you use it?  What does your logo look like? What might happen if you got it professionally redesigned? Invest time and money in lighting workshops, photo conventions, or classes. Do an online tutorial on how to do lighting for sports photography. Take a class on being more efficient in the workplace.

Network! Place yourself in a position to be made aware of where the gigs are coming from. If you don't know how to do that, ASK SOMEBODY who does! And then make sure you are doing the things that make you qualified to be considered for those gigs. Devote an hour a day, at least 3 days a week to side-train on something that's going to be useful later.

Art Model, Chloe Ann, © 2017 Terrell Neasley

All this to say that opportunities come your way most every day. But if you are not in a position to take advantage of them, fear not...someone else will. Time... you only have so much of it. Wasted time - its worse than wasted money, wasted food, or wasted anything else you can think of. Everything else, you can make up for it. Opportunities that came along for which you were not prepared for are simply lost. I've heard it said that Fortune Favors the Prepared. I believe this to be true. Be smart. Do the right things now. I believe this is a key factor that separates the successful from the "busy".

What Are You Going to Do Now?

My Excellent Panda, Copyright 2013 Terrell Neasley

 “Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.” 

– Nelson Mandela

With respect to photography... Nudes, Travel, and Change seem to be ongoing themes in my blog posts. Nudes and travel are what this blog are all about. However, the element of change works it's way in there like mortar between bricks. Change is what makes the Nude and Travel bricks in photography either stronger or weaker. Right now, I don't get to shoot nudes that much. The change in the travel industry has lessened my ability to travel. But it may be something different for you if you shoot wildlife or sports, for instance. Regardless of the genre, change will help you grow in your chosen field or it will make you quit it.

Change is not all bad. We dislike it because it robs us of options and choices. It takes away the comfortable and familiar and replaces it with "different". It can be inconvenient or it can be insurmountable and thus forces us to adjust or choose to do something else. Regardless, we are left with something unfamiliar to what we are accustomed to and no longer have the ease of routine and familiarity that we used to.

Twenty Twenty-One is upon us and brings with it Winds of Change more than any other year since any of us have been alive. Americans will soon have a new resident of the White House and if the recent course of events tell us anything, challenges indeed lay ahead. There is a vaccine for Covid-19 now, but travel still remains an interrupted and unpredictable affair. Therefore, the question I am asking is, what are you going to do now?

My Excellent Panda, Copyright 2013 Terrell Neasley

I'm not just asking rhetorically. I'm interested in knowing YOUR plans. Maybe you can impart some wisdom to me. As for me? Umm... well, I wanna continue to remain in Vietnam and work on some personal development. Taking lots of pics goes without saying. I still need to find my epic shot here. But yeah, hopefully I can get some stability. I'd like to remain for another two years and really search this place out in more depth both photographically and understanding the culture. If I get residency, I'll take some classes to learn Vietnamese. 

How do you carry on with your photographic career? Will you find something else to do for a while? Has this pandemic affected your ability to shoot, (whether you earn a living at it or not)? I know I have lots to figure out. Photo sales for me have been non-existent for a year almost. I read a recent blog post of another travel blogger whose entire income is derived from booking his guided travel tours. There are none for him right now. So what happens if the travel industry doesn't pick up this year? I wonder. He's not the only one in this predicament. How does the industry shift to something more survivable? Or hold out until it is better? 

My Excellent Panda, Copyright 2013 Terrell Neasley

It's my hope that none of us put down the camera. I pray we keep shooting. Make money at it or not, I don't think we can afford to forget the pure joy of photography. Maybe we are not selling or printing much. Maybe we aren't getting the gigs. But I think there are still things to do. I got a cousin who's on a rampage right now in Texas as she's BUILDING and becoming stronger in her photo game. That tells me there are still opportunities. But don't go flooding Texas. Be worth your salt and find those opportunities where you are. Money or no. 

Now is definitely a good time to advance your skills. Take online courses. Improve your lighting ability. If there is ONE area of photography that I KNOW people consistently neglect, it is LIGHTING! Don't give me that natural light shooter BS. I've been around long enough to know most people fear flash or think it's too complicated and expensive. EVEN if that were the case, I've still seen people misuse natural lighting. Sometimes they don't take advantage of using it at the right time or they don't know how to block or bounce light with flags or reflectors. Natural light shooters should know a little something about light direction, intensity, and color. Is the light hard or soft? How can you use shadows? Are the highlights too strong? See, it's more than just cameras and lenses and shooting while the sun is up.

There's lots to learn for everyone. I still feel so dumb about a lot of things. I hope 2021 brings a new hope for all of us. 

My Excellent Panda, Copyright 2013 Terrell Neasley

Scouting Nevada, my Third Visit on the Subject

Art Model, Covenant ©2015 Terrell Neasley

"I suffered evils, but without allowing them to rob me of the freedom to expand." 

~ Gordon Parks

This is my 10th Summer here in Las Vegas even though I have only lived here for 9 years. The summer before I moved here, I visited for the entire summer of 2006 and got a job working as temp help with MGM Grand. When I moved here, there were my first employers as a project manager.

Art Model, Covenant ©2015 Terrell Neasley

My initial visit here was in 2001, but that was as a tourist and my entire time was spent on the Strip. However, during my stay in 2006, my friend Paula took me out to the Valley of Fire with a model. It was a complete awaking from any other terrain and outdoors that I knew. Moving here in 2007, I immediately revisited Valley of Fire and broadened out my scope to more areas around Las Vegas. I joined a hiking group, Vegas Hikers when there were only 300 members. Today, there are over 13,000 members. That group helped me get familiar with more areas and hiking trails in and around the Las Vegas Valley.

Through more photography associations, I met more people who invited me out to areas further outside Las Vegas as well as the borders of Nevada. With four-wheel drive trucks, we got to thoroughly explore rarely utilized trails, valleys, mountains, lakes, rivers, hotsprings, and abandoned structures. From there, I went out on my own at times and visited other parks in Utah, Arizona, and California. I now have a National Park pass and will soon get one of State parks, as well.

Art Model, Covenant ©2015 Terrell Neasley

But I must admit, I got complacent and stopped exploring, primarily attributed to knee surgery and rehabilitation. I've reconnected some, but now that I'm getting back out on the trails, several of the places I initially visited are no longer available unless you want to be cited for trespassing. My friend, Garrett informed me a while back that the stomping grounds he showed me at Cold Creek has been closed off to private property now. Anniversary Narrows at Lake Mead is now closed off to hikes now. Another cold spring water spot is fenced off. As much as I want to travel abroad, I also need to travel here at home. I need to scout Nevada again! I've already written about "scouting Nevada" twice before. And I'm doing it again.

"The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed."

~ Gordon Parks

Art Model, Covenant ©2015 Terrell Neasley

Occasionally, I take out visiting photogs to areas around here to shoot. Its FUN! I love getting out there with new guys and helping them get their shots either by teaching them or just helping them with locations. Yeah, its fun, but I do charge. So, if I want to do that more, then I'd better get my butt back out there and scout more trails to meet their need and imaginations. Some clients can hike, other's can't or don't want to do so. I've had a few that had to stay out of the sun, therefore my locations required trees and shade which isn't easy in the desert!

Art Model, Covenant ©2016 Terrell Neasley

Other queries require water sources, night time work, or less photographed locations. Everybody doesn't want to just head to Red Rock. They want the road less traveled and I can definitely respect that and relate. My job is to accommodate. And I have to get myself a 4x4 truck. A white Jeep Grand Cherokee, specifically. That's what I'm after, anyways. So its on the list and that list is looooong. I am such a GEAR HEAD. I always need so many things. Gotta get the truck. My computer is 4 years old. I still have several places abroad to visit RIGHT AWAY. And of course... I need more cameras...at least one more (Until the new Sony A9 series comes out next year...then 2 more). More lenses... at least 2 more, possibly 3. I'll get that under control with counseling, I promise.

Art Model, Covenant ©2016 Terrell Neasley

So yeah, I got work to do. Man's gotta have goals, right? I think I have more than my share, but they all gotta happen. So watch me work!