Unlock Your Potential

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Matter lays inert if an outside force doesn’t act upon it. If you want a ball to roll, you need to push it.

How do you expect to unlock your own potential, and set your ideas in motion, if you don’t give it an outside push?

If you’ve ever wanted to unlock your potential, don’t let fear get in the way. Fear is what prevents us from taking the first step. Fear is what holds us back. Fear is what prevents us from achieving our inner-greatness.

What is the smallest thing you can do to take a step forward?

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Action is the ingredient of change in our lives. If there is something you dislike about your life, or something you are dissatisfied with— how do you expect things to change without you making an active change or action?

Often complexity gets in the way of action.

My suggestion: think of the smallest little thing you can do to take a step forward.

For example, if you want to lose weight, don’t worry about following some complicated diet. Just start off by subtracting sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and starchy foods from your diet.

If you want to grow stronger, don’t worry about signing up for a gym. Just get on the floor and do some pushups and bodyweight squats.

If you want to become a better photographer, don’t worry about going to art school. Go out and take photos.

When you feel like you need new gear for your photography, make the best out of the gear you already have. Limits breed creativity.

If you want to start a company, see if you can create your first product and sell it.

If you have an idea for a photo project, just go out and start taking photos for it, and make an edit of 10 images, and share it with your friends.

Don’t ask for opinions on ideas

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I think ideas are overrated. Execution is far more important than ideas.

For example, don’t ask for people’s opinion on a camera. Just go to the store and try it out, or rent it for a few days.

Don’t ask others for their opinion on a photo project idea you have. Just go out and try to shoot it— and see whether it works or not. You can always ask for opinions after you’ve shot your project ideas.

Experiment

Life is one big experiment. We never know what will work for us or what won’t work for us.

If you want to become more creative, see ways you can experiment in your daily life to gain inspiration, creativity, and motivation. Start watching film noir, studying the work of the masters, going to art exhibitions, listening to certain types of music, or switching up different genres of your photography.

1% Everyday

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It is difficult for us to unlock our potential overnight. What you need to do is to seek small, gradual, and consistent changes.

For example, whenever I lift weights, I always try to increase the weight by 1% a week. Over months and years, that will compound into massive gains.

Try to improve your photography 1% everyday. Become 1% more critical of your photos, learn 1% more about the craft from other photographers, and perhaps take 1% more photos everyday.

Another tip: try to remove 1% of your excuses, complaints, negative energy, and bad photos daily. I actually feel that subtracting from our vices is more effective than adding to our virtues.

Never blame anyone else

I am guilty of this— whenever I am in a creative slump, or feel that I can’t achieve my potential, I blame someone else, or I blame life.

I blame others that they don’t give me enough free time to work on my creative work. I blame fate that I don’t have enough money or resources to pursue my ideas. I blame my lack of talent, or the fact that I started late that I can’t achieve my goals.

But starting today, never blame anyone else. The only person we can blame is ourselves. And if we never blame anyone else— it is empowering. We know that our fate lies in our hands, 100%.

Be the master of change in your own life. Change your own destiny. Take control of your creative abilities, and achieve your fullest potential.

I believe in you!

Always,
Eric