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Making your First Million: Perfect Job

I think on average they say people accumulate about throughout their career they make about two million dollars on average okay, so this is kind of like I see it you know, getting your career going those formative years uh to help you get to the that last million or so but in reality I nowadays I think you know what, two million ain't enough nowadays you need for six million I think so she if you're living on the coast of california even seattle is very, very very expensive tow live nowadays and so anyways, what I wanted to do is I feel I feel like being a full time photographer is literally one of the hardest jobs in the world it's actually, photography is probably the number one hobby in the world. Okay? So it's not that people don't like it right versus say accountants nobody like is dreaming to do accounting as the hobby for themselves. Well, maybe there are people out there but right if you think of how many full time you know self sufficient photographers out there earning a livi...

ng supporting their family out there they're very, very, very few compared to how many doctors or lawyers do you know or or professionals of that very high level like if I said, oh, how many doctors do you know? I don't know ten twenty happy lawyers, you know, five, six, seven how many professional full time photographers that earn a decent living you know uh oh what nobody too it's really, really, really tough to do so what I wanted to do it share with you not only getting started with a photography career but any career actually, uh and especially if you're in the arts how do you navigate through today's world okay, which is quite different and so uh, what is the real deal with earning money with photography? People think it's all fine and dandy and everything but in reality earning a living with photography you have stuff that you shoot that pays the bills, right? It's you're making money with it and then you have other stuff that you shoot what you love doing but they don't intersect I mean the intersect and maybe a little bit but not a lot, okay? And so the whole goal is to do both and you want to move your career into what you shoot and what you're doing you want to live your dream man and get paid for it that's really tough to do and so I feel fortunate it's taken me a while to do it, but that's what I feel like I'm actually doing is that I'm earning a living and I am providing for my family and I just I wake up every day and I just love it I can't get enough of it right and it's so rewarding to me I mean this week has been great people been e mailing me and telling me how I've changed their lives I mean can you imagine what a blessing that is is when somebody goes up to you I'm sure you've had it happened to you they come up to us that he's literally changed my life like what? But me what wow that feels like so um it's such a blessing to feel that way you feel significant you feel like what you're doing in your life actually means something um and that's what we all want to get do is to that to that point but sometimes you know some jobs in just a job you just got to do it right and sometimes you don't make any money at shooting what you love doing but you still got to do it you've got to fit it in your schedule you have to have personal projects because you shoot what you do to make money and then you do what you do what you love but a lot of that times that part that you love takes maybe a decade to cultivate it to bring it to a point where it's your artistic expression where it's at a world class level at it's at a point where you could get recognized so you can actually earn money with that but it takes time if you study success patterns most people don't get cranking until fifteen into uh years into their career uh if you know out anybody familiar with albert einstein would you agree that he's a pretty smart dude right it took him fifteen years until he really discovered his theory of relativity and look how smart he is if this brilliant oh what does that leave us man is gonna take us fifty years and so these even these bright people even these athletes right look at for example maybe the average gold medalist the gym n'est ok when did they start five years old four years old then they go to the olympics there like sixteen or eighteen years old how many years is that and you know are they waking up every morning at six a m practicing going to school going back for him every single day doing that for how many years long time how much are we practicing or photography are we putting that type of effort and dedication to it because really that's what it's going to take to get to that level but you work and work and work you do what needs to pay the bills and eventually you don't give up your dream you more for you tweak it you find what it is and then eventually you come back together for you okay so anyways here's the making your first million and beyond out outside the box success for the bold and the created courageous k um I want to give you a scenario of my dad, right? My dad was robert limb. So that's why? I'm scott robert limb? Ok, look at my dad and hiss. Kind of like how he grew up. He started his career as an apprentice at age eighteen working for the government. Okay, he had the same job for thirty five years. I don't even know that ever exist anymore. Does I mean had the same job for thirty five years? Okay. In nineteen seventy nine he earned about fifty thousand a year that's equivalent today to about one hundred sixty one thousand dollars a year if you had for inflation. Ok, now you can you see why two people have to work now, but back then it was possible by dollar went a lot more back then and so my dad was able tio have a house. We had a couple of cars one was the nineteen sixty rambler, but still we had two cars, which we still have that car. Actually, um and he put all us three kids through college and my mom was able to stay home and take care of the family. Wow, that possible today it's a lot easier back then, dollar went a lot more back then, okay, and he had an investment on his house keeper people weren't house, and when he sold it he made twenty five twenty to twenty five times what he paid for it is that ever gonna happen to us today? Those days are gone. Can you imagine whatever you pay for it like you do in seattle pay for a nice that's probably like a seven hundred thousand million dollars whatever you can imagine having that and then getting twenty million dollars a few years down the road no way, but that's what? It was back then a lot easier zero investment on education he signed up as an apprentice he's earning a very good living. The government takes him in o here will train you don't worry about it, we'll pay you even while we're training you that exist today, not any more the golden years are over folks it's really difficult nowadays to earn a living that's no more, but sometimes we think it does right because that that wasn't too long ago. I lived through the years wait a second of fifty but that wasn't that long ago has it changed really that much it has and we have to realize that it's significantly harder earner living right now definitely harder so you have to understand the job market and what's going on actually there's seasons of change right the traditional career pass arm or uncertain today manufacturing jobs that we used to have in america the good paying ones are not our being done what overseas now not hear those jobs are being shipped out and so guess what we haven't oversaturation of white collar jobs I don't know if you have anybody have kids here just getting out of college right on dso they've gotten their degree right how long have they been out of college maria a couple of years but the youngest one still hasn't found anything and he went to work in construction with my husband s so he didn't he graduated he couldn't find a job right how long did the search for about two years new year's ok do you hear that folks you pay what the on the average the college education is five years in one hundred fifty thousand dollars you do that and you wait one year two years maybe you don't even think there it is it's a common case right there but we have to understand that that's often happens I mean I talked to people all the time because you know I'm old right so a lot of people that I talked to the kids were just graduate you're telling me oh my gosh you know it's at at least a year until they find any job and usually it's just a job that they weren't trying to get into its that's tough because we haven't oversaturation there's no more manufacturing jobs here they're being shipped out it's all white collar jobs and then the colleges they're enrollment is increasing like crazy they have a thirty percent increase over the last ten years and so they're still there white collar white collar jobs like oh that's all that's all that they're going for there's there's it's hard to find it so there's three components to the perfect job I feel one there's income we need a certain amount of money that we can survive that we can have a certain lifestyle that we feel comfortable with right? I don't know what that number is that number is different for everybody okay too we have to feel significant we have to feel that what we do is is actually making a difference and I know you know a lot of times as a husband and the father I mean the greatest thing for me is that I can just provide for my family man I could just put food on the table and I'm so blessed bet right now I mean that my wife can just do her dream job and just take care of our family and that she doesn't have to work anymore I mean that is a pure blessing for us and that feels significant right? And I remember many years ago like your story last time was like I'm tears and everything talking about that stuff I'm not crying today, okay? Um I couldn't provide for my family I tried so hard year after year I could only bring home ten thousand dollars a year and I felt defeated and deflated and I felt in the lowest point of my life until I found photography it's really hard but I was I was just trying to find some sort of significance and so a lot of us feel great hey man it's just if we could just provide for a family that's like wow, that is great I couldn't take that and so there's three levels of significance the first level is just being able to provide for yourself and that is great, right? And we maybe we know are people like that it's a black seat brother or sister or somebody's like man they just need to learn how to take care of themselves that would be a major accomplishment, right? Or maybe it's even ourselves, right like just being able to take care of ourselves to provide for ourselves that is great and then okay, so what's the next level the next levels what I call her oy costs or the people that were associated with our family, the people who were close contact with and we have a relationship and that we could be significant in their life right that's usually about ten to fifteen people in our life ok? And then there's the last level the last level is the amazing level and it's if we can in some way affect the world and that is the pre mill one that really makes you feel great if you could do that so they have those three levels of significance and there's one more thing on top of that and it's actually having a passion do I love what I do right? So we get into this situation yeah we're providing for our family we're feeling significant but we hate what we do and we have conflict right there is that yes I got to provide for my family but I don't really like I hate going to work every day doesn't it doesn't get that feeling alarm clock riggs I gotta go into work today my boss wants to have a meeting with me uh right we all hate that and so we want to get to that third level of just loving what you doing having some sort of significance right and loving what we do and so those two I feel our prime wish everybody can do that not everybody but a lot of people can just do that part right there this third one is really difficult but guess what we should want it all we should strive to want everything because it's possible to do it right and some of these are some of the things that I've learned to help me get and have it all right and do it all to love what you do and everybody should have a dream so deep that when accomplished the only response or tears of joy do you have that you have something that if you actually get it you would be in tears because that would be so amazing to you have that cultivate that don't give it up every year you know as we get a little bit older and older that dream just kind of diminishes we start it starts to go away you know you come right you come out of high school and you're going to college and that dream is real bright right yeah right then you start going through college it gets a little bit dimmer than you graduate and you try to get a job in the real world and it gets dimmer then you actually get a job and work that that is like you know what? I'm just living for my vacations here right uh man when's that next got robert workshop I did bang then it sounds good to me right? Okay um we'll sell our journey to extraordinary life it's not just about the money right? It's obvious right earning a kim income but having gluing feeling significant on dh loving what we do I think that's what we all of us realize it's not about the money now why? Because look at donald trump thinking about two thousand sixteen tennessee for president doesn't donald trump have a lot of money can you just like retire and do whatever he wants why does he want to do that right yeah he has a passion and he wants influence people work for influence right and sometimes we think money is that but when you look at the really really really really really rich people it's beyond that it's wanting to be influential and if we can feel influential we're going to feel rich no matter how much money that we make it's going to make us feel good and have a passion of what we do okay now what can we learn from these people recognized who they are bill gates steve jobs mark zuckerberg what can we learn from them anybody what do they have in common what's that a striking idea ok good anything else influence they had a huge influence on people right all right anything else they had they love what they do right that's great are they all college dropouts I think so actually some of the richest people in the world that pelvis dropped else what do you know well what they have in common with their extraordinary success their goal was not financial but they wanted to change the world they had a big vision and they said they were going to change the world ok and that's what they set out to do they wanted to change things right so here's a nontraditional careerpath create innovative goods and or services to fulfill a need in the marketplace okay to create innovative goods or services to fulfill that need in the marketplace. Every industry has its nukes and crannies right? Every industry has you know, our industries great, but it doesn't do this very well so if you kind of look at my story and what kind of propelled me was, I looked at the industry and I don't you know what? The off camera flash area of our industry I see some gaps in it I see that you know what? Not enough attention is being paid to use a manual flash because a manual flashes a lot less expensive and if I could teach people that then I can change the industry like can show them that they don't need this or expensive debt and so and I saw that and I saw that there was a need right there and I went to fulfill that and because of that that I have gained popularity from that so that in order to really see within the industry needs, you have to be in it for a while, right? So if you're just starting with photography is like, oh yeah man, I want to change this thing I want to like be famous with photography, right? Well, hey it's going to take you a few years to really see what this industry is about and be in it for a while be successful in it for a while so you know what true photographers are dealing with right? The full time for tiger is trying to earn a career with this and learn the ins and outs of it so you can actually help it you've got to know it okay? So first thing to do to be innovative, right? So everybody wants to know I want it innovate on something and bring something new to the industry the first thing is is that you've got to get your you gotta punch a time clock you gotta get your hours in it's plain simple like you've all read those books about you know uh what's that one about the ten thousand hours what's the famous one drawing a blank right now? Welcome lauren will didn't do that well anyway it says it's a theory it's been around for a while that you need at least ten thousand hours to be proficient at anything at least ten thousand hours. What if ten thousand dollars ten thousand hours, eight hours a day, forty hours a week for five years that's why you really don't see any part time world class photographers if you want to be world class but you're just doing this it's part time you're not gonna make it impossible because you can't get enough hours in to really perfect that craft to make a difference we already gave that example with andrew already, I don't make him stand up again because we're going to just stone him and hit him and beat him up, but you got to get you hours in that's this appearance simple, you've got to get your time and you've got to set your high goals, man, you've got a dream, you've got to really have something at a high level, because that's going to push you to maximize your efforts, you've got to find a like minded community. That's what creative lives about right is gathering together people who want this seriously because no one condones it alone, no one, we have to depend on each other, we have to build each other up and that's what I really, really tried to create and that's what I'm actually the most proudest about if my for teaching career is that I've I've got this little community of people that I've kind of mentored and helped, and, uh, you know, a lot of times we see each other at least once a year and it's been going on for almost a decade now, and just to see these these these photographers get to that world class level and to see their images show up on covers of magazines and from them to be being able to provide for their families like, wow that's awesome I'm this is just an awesome community where you can learn from each other encourage each other it is a lonely path mad being an artist is a lonely path because nobody takes it on because it so hard I'm sure some of you write dreaded to tell your spouse or whoever I think I want to be a full time for tiger for what are you crazy? They're against that right and it's really hard sometime us and so I found going up it was very lonely because I couldn't find any other my first of all can any find any other my friends who were entrepreneurs and then on top of that it was hard to find full time artists that wanted to do be an entrepreneur and be an artist that was wow I felt like I was on the island I was like, you know what? When I get going with this thing I want to create a community of people that we can help each other because I felt so alone in my journey a so lost sometimes find a mentor that is really, really, really key you know, creative live that's the textbook you gotta have it, you've got to refer back to it, you've got to use it, but then you've got to do better than that right that's like how explained yesterday because everybody can have access to this wonderful education plus one hundred bucks hundred twenty nine bucks get any course learn from the world's best photographers an entire world right? So it's made it raised the expectations on you now right? You've got to be able to doom or be better faster because all this information is available to you you're accountable for it, right? So you've got to go above and beyond so what's that next step finding that person who is it that world class level that could really develop you and help you along the way to speed up that rise and to get ahead of everybody that's very important look at this movie the final season I talk about this movie a lot it's very, very interesting it's about a little small town with five hundred people it's somewhere in the mid weston I can't remember where it wass I can't remember what it was but in the whole town there were only five hundred I want it's in iowa on ly five hundred people in this town okay and the high school they only had one hundred total high school students that was it then they had fourteen baseball players he's fourteen days ballplayers in this small little town they won nineteen iowa state champions ships this small little town that's amazing how ok when you win one maybe that's look when you win nineteen from a talent pool that small what is that telling you they know something it's a learning thing here right so what did they do? Each team passed on their legacy of success because they knew what it took to do it and they said do abc the you win championships and they kept repeating that year after year and that's exactly when I saw that movie I go that's it that's what a mentor does see passes down his legacy of success what they've learned over those years and he hands it over to you or she hands it over to you on a silver platter and says take it's right there you'd be surprised now how much is that worth to you that information if they could take you and give you higher levels of success that you ever thought how much is it worth and some people are just saying here taking I'm here take it by its one hundred twenty nine dollars right there take it no that's ok I'll just trying to get the the one the little clips on youtube or whatever later by it's just right there for you grab it right it's it's really good information and sometimes we just well I don't know it's just a strange is like uh no that's okay we'll learn it on my own okay so mentor passes down the left you see a success why is learning from a mentor or a coach the best way to learn let's analyze that a little bit okay, so if we were higher learning scale here I think the first level here is and this was achievement going through right through the middle the one way common info okay, now creative lives just raised that bar a whole heck of a lot but everybody starting there and right now right it's because it doesn't cost anything to stream this right now it's available to everybody right? So that's the one way I mean that books so this also includes books, dvds or whatever it's one way information then practice practice is going to get you to that next level you take this one way information and you put your ten thousand hours and you're going to get pretty good ok but a lot of people have access to that a lot of people have access to being able to practice a lot of people have access to that one way information that's at a low cost everybody has that so that's going toe get you to what good bye a little bit above average right and then there's world class one way info which I feel is creative life right bam just up the bar there that's really going to get you a long way and then the last level is that world class two way information okay, do you ever see a let's say a world class figure skater winning in a gold medal right they always have what a coach you think of all the people out of performing at a very high level right this artistic right all of them have coaches right you think of a violinist who wants to be a concert violinist do you think she can learn all those tricks on youtube all those how to do it no they need a personal coach they need to wait information so that higher that coach needs to assimilate and see where that student is see what they do well see what they don't well and custom lies the learning specifically for them and it's true that relationship that they have that they can grow and get to that next level and so you'll see it everywhere right we have cliff right he's a black belt expert the same process right how do you how do you get a black bill you think he can cliff let me ask you question do you think you could earn on being a very high level being a black belt martial artists by watching youtube videos no you're laughing right literally impossible wake up people that's the way life isthe video doesn't hit back to back like that right think about that that's what he's laughing it's like no way possible I don't think that our industry that we could do that right no it's really really hard I mean this is just a very slim chance okay and of course the higher you go there the more it's going to cost you right here's here's here's youtube learning right down here right and you start to get up here now and the amazing thing is this world class info here creative life it's only thirty twenty nine dollars is really right so not too much more right and then the higher you go it's going to cost you more but you got to pay that price if you want to get there it's just like college tell me japan college fifty thousand dollars whatever that's the average cost is going to be it's going to cost something and mentor cans that's what I've been trying to say this whole week a mentor cares whether or not you fail or you don't fail you want somebody to care for you that when you do are having trouble you know hey man what's going on like how's it going um and I had a lot of stuff going on this week I can manage it whatever I just couldn't get out there hey dude, you got to get out there. I don't care if you got to make it happen I know stuff happens come on we gotta practice let's do it find somebody right? You need somebody who cares can push those buttons who know how you operate, who sees where you're kind of frail and where you're good at and encourage you in that way and pursue along ok, oprah winfrey and mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. A mentor is someone who allows you to know, no matter how dark the night in the morning joy will come. The mentor is someone who allows you to see the higher part of yourself. When sometimes it becomes hidden to your own view nobody makes it alone. Nobody has made it alone. I you know, what I like about this part is a mentor is someone who allows you to see the higher part of yourself, when sometimes it becomes hidden and that's what I see in you guys, I see it because I was there. I had those glimpses of genius or whatever here and there, but wow, because people then they're great. And so when you're having a bad day or whatever it's like a man, you got it still you can do this. Just keep hanging in there, right? You maybe you can't see your potential, but I can right. And you need somebody like that. That's like what our parents do for us, right? They always have that hope in us that higher expectation of us.