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.
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.
2010 will be the year I turn from part time to full time photographer and what you say in this post echoes my outlook on life and business. Last year I worked at CJ Inc. for a month and the crew taught me some invaluable lessons that I'll be taking with me in to my own full time career.
I know that 2010 will be tough, but I also know that I'll be going for gold and doing all that is in my power to create fresh new work and hopefully work with fresh new clients.
The internet is a wonderful thing that allows us to keep in touch with those who inspire, so thank you Nick for adding fuel to the fire that's keeping my pot of creativity and ambition bubbling away nicely.
Best of luck in 2010 buddy!
Posted by: Adam Swords | January 04, 2010 at 09:23 AM
Nice!!!
Posted by: Derek Green | January 04, 2010 at 09:37 AM
Nick, thank you SO much for sharing this. I think our human nature sometimes has us in a "imaginary world" were we hoping and waiting for things to fall in our lap. That for some reason we feel like our own life is out of our control. Wrong, wake up in life and Make it Happen.
I have heard amazing great things about you from my Jeff and Lara. I also just read Crush It recently. I really needed this post this morning, so thank you for continuing to light the fire. Your work is fabulous. Keep making it happen in 2010. I hope our paths cross sometime soon!
Posted by: Gina Z | January 04, 2010 at 09:57 AM
...and you sir make S%#@ Happen EVERYDAY! You inspire the industry and myself everyday! THANK YOU!
Posted by: Amanda Sosa Stone | January 04, 2010 at 10:30 AM
I love coming over to your blog, it always inspires me.
Please do have a think about doing a photography seminar - I'd be first in the queue!
Posted by: therese | January 04, 2010 at 11:01 AM
Great post, Nick! Thanks to my fellow photographer friend, Gina, for showing me your blog. I'll be back. :)
Posted by: Jessica Barker | January 04, 2010 at 11:49 AM
Great post! Thanks so much for the inspiration! I'm attending MTH2010 in March--looking forward to meeting you!
Posted by: Danielle Cococcia | January 04, 2010 at 04:06 PM
Nick, good advice. I hope that your first book is also on the list of must-do things for 2010.
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Posted by: LindaAN | January 05, 2010 at 03:56 AM
Hi Nick, this is my first time on your blog. You send a great message. It sort of sounds like Monroe Mann's series on Youtube. I blog about lifestyle design. Crush It is on my "to read" list. I want to know, is it just philosophy or does it contain "how to" as well? Thanks for putting your goals out there. I just want to create a 8K/month income while I'm in school so I don't end up in debt when I finish school.
Posted by: Lis Carpenter | January 05, 2010 at 07:04 PM
Your first book is actually coming out this year. I saw the pre-order page at Random House. I'm looking forward to reading it.
http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=95975
Posted by: claude etienne | January 05, 2010 at 09:18 PM
Love this post!! : ) The quotes you threw in are some of my favorites.
Posted by: Christin Rose | January 06, 2010 at 07:43 PM
Hey All, thanks for compliments.
Posted by: nickonken | January 07, 2010 at 09:56 AM
@lis Crush It does have a lot of how to in it. More in the ways of using social media to create your personal brand. Great insights in it.
Posted by: nickonken | January 07, 2010 at 09:57 AM
Thank you so much for this article...your words really resonated with me and couldn't of come at a more perfect time for me. Many thanks!
Posted by: erin | January 10, 2010 at 03:09 PM
you rock onken.
Posted by: chelsea | January 16, 2010 at 09:34 PM
Great Post. I just finished "crush it" today actually. So many points that are basic ideas, but can really prove to be beneficial if you are willing to put in the work. I'm going to a lecture to hear Gary speak tomorrow night. looking forward to it.
Posted by: Jamie Orillion | January 21, 2010 at 01:29 AM
Very inspirational article! I have the same goals as you for 2010! Let's make it happen!
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