There it was again.
The voice in my head telling me, “Maybe this is a crazy idea. I mean, who takes portraits at a flea market”
Then on cue the what if statements came flooding in:
- What if you get in trouble?
- What if they laugh?
- What if you’re just wasting your time?
- What if the pictures don’t turn out right?
I read that meditation isn’t just about the peace and quiet but it’s about telling your brain you’re going to do something and then doing it.
Since my kiddos are off to school again and I recently said deuces to my full-time day job (back full time to freelance!) I decided to become dedicated to my lifting. Yes there are a lot of days where I have a million other things to do in the AM but I’m being intentional and blocking time to make it a priority. Finishing those reps and sets are most than just staying fit. It’s about telling my mind I’m going to do something and then doing it with the hopes that I can develop this automatic response in other areas in my life, mainly my creative projects.
So with that in mind, I loaded my car up with a simple one light portrait setup and background and made my way to Jake’s Flea Market on Rt 100 in Barto, PA. There are literally cows across the road; it’s pretty awesome.
I started out by walking a loop and told myself, the longer you walk around the less of the chance you’re actually going to do this. So I got my butt in gear, found a vacant spot and started to set up. I could feel the eyeballs and stares as I set up my background against the trunk of my car.
It didn’t matter, because I was smiling.
I was actually taking action to do the thing I said I wanted to do. I was dedicating time to be creative and try something new.
On my dry erase board I started to spell out “Portraits” I thought of a ridiculous price and wrote it down.
$1 (half off!)
I was off and running. Putting my lifetime of flea market selling experience to practice, I started to shout “Pictures here! Half off portraits” I had a lot of eyeballs and people laughing.
“Who wants their portrait taking at a flea market?”
“How’s he gonna make any money charging only $1?“
(This is all up on my highlights on Instagram under ‘shoot life‘.)
Half an hour had past still with no one. The vflat had fallen twice and had to get duct taped to my trunk. But I wasn’t upset or disappointed. I was actually pumped that I can put myself out there, a vital skill to many careers and areas in our life that require us to step out of our comfort zone. As I was testing the light I head someone on my right say, “What the heck, I’ll get my picture.“
Roman ( @theromannick ) took off his hat and took a seat on my barstool. I used my new Linq card to zap him all of my info and felt like I won the day. The first one is always the toughest so I was very pleased to get one under my belt. Now who’s next?
I started to test different words on my dry erase, but nothing changed. It wasn’t until I left the safety of my setup and started to walk right up to people and ask if I could take their photo that people started to say yes. The barrier of them having to come to me was erased. I had two yes’s back to back!
First was with Lilli (@lillibergmannnn). She had this dope blue long sleeve crop top with high waisted brown pants. She said yes without hesitation and we started shooting.
We shot for about 2 minutes. The short session trains me to think quick on my feet and act more on instinct so that I don’t overanalyze.
Shortly after shooting with Lilli, I spotted a man with gold chains, a black beater, durag and tatted head to toe.
I reached out to him in Spanish. “¿Queires una foto?”
He was a bit reluctant at first but then said yes with a smile.
I found myself wanting to make him look hard. Samson ( @samsonacevedobk ) had such a light in his eyes and a smile that I felt guilty for falling into that default. Me wanting to portray him as I envisioned vs who he was. Very valuable lesson for myself in that moment. Let people shine.
This entire trip was an exercise in “stepping out of my comfort zone.” I had let too much time pass between projects like these and had forgotten when it was like to just go out on a limb.
I wonder how many of us let weeks, months, or even years pass without taking a risk. Being brave or overcoming fear gets a lot easier when being uncomfortable becomes the norm.
How often as a freelancer, business owner or entrepreneur do we hear “no”? How often to we let fear or doubt hold us back from taking the next necessary step?
This is a skill we all need to get better at. I challenge you to come up with a micro exercise that challenges you to get out of your comfort zone. It can be something simple like asking for a discount on coffee or an introduction to someone. Maybe it’s reaching out to someone you’ve always wanted on your podcast or stepping into a gym without fear or judgment.
Taking a leap of faith proves to us that we are worth it. Remember, it’s a skill to tell our brain that we’re going to do something, so go make it happen.
What is an idea or next step you’d like to go and make happen? Drop it into the comments so that we can speak it into existence and cheer each other on!
Quick Links:
Idea I’m noodling:
I want to create a short film (or series) on how athletes cope and start to rebuild the climb toward the next Olympics.
New tool I love:
This Linq card where they can tap my phone and get all my contact info
What I’m excited about: