Are You Making It Happen For Yourself?
Why You Should Always Choose Yourself
Hello my lovely Substack people
Today we are going to talk about how this year is panning out for you so far and how the powerful choice of simply choosing yourself could be exactly what you need to get going on the right path.
In other news I was recently a guest on the Exposure Therapy podcast hosted by
and it was a very fun chat. You can click to listen below and don’t forget to support those guys by sharing the podcast, subscribing to their newsletter here on Substack and if possible grabbing a copy of their physical magazine!The response to my latest video on how to balance your time as a busy person/parent and a creative has been so lovely (I have been sick this week so I haven’t had a chance to reply to comments as much as i would like) if you missed it you can catch it below.
This is a simple four step process to realistically fit more time in for photography and I highly recommend following it if you feel like life takes over and leaves you no time to be creative.
I Cho Cho Choose You
So often in life we let exterior circumstances shape our existence.
Whether it’s expectations from our parents or friendship groups, pressure from society to do X thing followed by Y thing, or waiting fro someone or something to anoint us with an opportunity so we can then finally do what we love.
I’ve been there and I was there for a long time. I was waiting for someone to say “hey Lucy, you seem cool and creative would you please share your thoughts and ideas and your photography with the world online and then maybe it can become your job?”
I mean no one is ever gonna ask me or you that…everyone is busy thinking about themselves and everyone is racing around likely just trying to make it through life rather than actioning their real dreams and desires.
The good news here is that you don’t need to wait for someone to choose you, you can choose yourself!
It sounds wishy washy maybe, like in Trainspotting how “Choose Life” seems kind of lame and boring and cheesy when juxtaposed with Sick Boys monologue on the cool factor of heroin and it’s undeniable personality.
What we learn from Trainspotting is, as the movie goes on, heroin is a deep dark dirty hole and choosing life would actually be way “cooler”.
Choosing life the way Renton puts it in the opening sequence of the film seems like conforming to the norm and following the cookie cutter way of living - choose yourself is more of an empowering and autonomous action that allows you to put yourself in front of opportunities that will lead to what you really want.
It’s not cheesy and it also works. I’m proof of that!
How do I choose myself?
Step one is working out what you want and I have talked quite bit here about finding your why and working out what your goals are and this helps to give you clarity.
Clarity leads to conscious planning and action - we love clarity.
Okay so you want to
Become a full time creative
Book photography clients to build your portfolio
Start building an online presence
Have an art show or make a zine/photobook
What would it look if you choose yourself for these things as opposed to waiting around for an invite or client to come to you?
Choosing yourself looks like
Reaching out to potential clients to pitch yourself for this type of work - be bold!
Asking someone in the industry/community questions that will help to uncover how one would get this type of work or opportunity
Put yourself in a room with people who are doing/have done this stuff and get to know them and make yourself known too!
Start sharing your work and showing up as the the thing you want to be to start the narrative going e.g. put in your bio “artist” “fashion photographer” “photography educator”
Start building habits that embody the life you want - what do full time creatives normally do with their time and what do they prioritise? How can you apply this?
Why this works so well
The mindset shift that happens when you choose yourself is WILD!
Suddenly you just wake up and feel like the world really is your oyster - you can open up your laptop and make shit happen for yourself. It’s really empowering and you’ll also find that the positive affect on your mindset will help your confidence and therefore make other people drawn to you.
The other notable shift is how in control of your narrative you become too - it’s like you are the author and the storyteller here, not life and whatever shit it wants to throw at you this week (it will still throw shit though just FYI).
The control is empowering and revolutionary and you will wonder why you didn’t act on your free will years ago.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that people respond to however you present yourself so if you introduce yourself as an artist or a photographer thats how people think of you. If you talk about these things and embody this persona then it becomes your reality.
As Pris says in Blade Runner “I think, therefore, I am”
How you think shapes how you are and act as a person so start thinking like a fashion photographer or a successful artist or YouTuber.
Everything has a domino effect and we can make this a good or a bad outcome… so how will you make those dominos fall in a way that’s gonna compound positively for you?
Seth Godin On Picking Yourself
I have been choosing myself for a while now, long before I heard this wonderful advice from guru Seth Godin but he really does put it so well and is worth diving into if you want to do anything creative online.
This is such a quick watch and highlights how much choice we have in todays world when it coms to sharing ideas and making things happen for ourselves. We don’t need to wait for gatekeepers to pick us, as Seth so rightly points out, we can use the tools around us now to just do it on our own terms if we are willing to commit.
I have a sneaking suspicion that we are all a little afraid and we need, or we think we need, that outside validation before we get vulnerable and share our work or ideas with the world.
Just remember, if you wait to be chosen and given permission so you feel safe enough to share, it may never happen. Isn’t it worth a little discomfort to at least try and follow your dreams or give your creative ideas a chance?
Let me know how this made you feel or if this hit home at all an feel free to share any other advice or useful tips below on this type of mindset shift.
A new podcast episode will be hitting your inbox on Monday morning - it’s a fun one about what we can learn as creatives from The White Lotus. See you then!
Love Lucy x
I needed to hear this!
That’s a piece of inspiring advice! Some things I’ve been telling myself for years, some I even started doing (momentarily). I should pin this post somewhere and look at it in the morning ;-)