BetterPhotoJim

"Jim's Gone Crazy Again" Weekend Sale!!

Yes, that's right, we're doing another crazy sale, which runs through Memorial Day.
 
My staff thinks I've gone nuts again ... well, maybe I have :) ... but we're pulling out all of the photographic stops to provide these awesome happenings:
 
- For the first time, we're giving away a FREE 4-week online photography course - to the first 150 people who sign up for my "Creative Confidence: Photographing with Power" weekend. You'll get to attend this  life-changing workshop and unleash the creative photographer within ... AND get a FREE 4-week online photography course!*  (*select courses only)
 
This workshop will soon cost $1499. But sign up now before the price goes up... and save over half the ticket price. That's only $699 if you sign up this weekend! Along with this fantastic price, we're tossing in a free class ... no wonder they think I've gone crazy!
 
- Did you miss our recent Super Sale on websites? No problem. It's back, but just for this weekend only. We're extending the sale of Deluxe and Pro BetterPholios - two years for the price of one (both new sites and renewals).
 
- OK, why stop there? I'm also tossing in a 2-for-1 deal on the BetterPhoto Basic Membership - two years for the price of one.
 
Have fun taking advantage of my craziness!
 
Jim

Start Your Week Off on the Right Note: Gratitude Benefits All

Express gratitude and feel the abundant benefits... today!

Here's a taste of what I am grateful for today:

1. My daughter saying this morning, with awesome enthusiasm and victory fists punching up into the sky: "Daddy, today we're going to doing ERRANDS!"
2. Music - D and I have recently "discovered" a new level of appreciation for iTunes and playlists. I love having a thousand of my favorite songs at my fingertips.
3. Abundance and the understanding that the daily praise and appreciation for God's abundant supply begets more blessings.
4. Knowing that a blessing for one is a blessing for all. The multiplication and magnification of Good.
5. Summer school - over the next few months, I'm putting myself through my own self-created "summer school", and I'm going to award myself with my own "Certificate of Mastery" when I complete my course.
6. Denise's love. I am so fortunate.
7. My son's excitement yesterday about going to see Papa play in his local orchestra. I am especially grateful for the moments with him sitting on my lap as the music started. A five year old intently attentive and clapping with great energy after each piece, all on his own.
8. My recent time in the British Virgin Islands and, especially, sailing into Anegata.
9. Confidence, clarity, and creativity/productivity.
10. YOU!

Would you please do me two favors:

1. If you have not already, grab a notepad and start your own gratitude journal. It will change your life, and together we can change the world, one thought of gratitude at a time.
2. Take this brief survey. I want to hear from you. This is the same survey I sent out to my contacts. If you received an email from me, fill out that survey. If not, please fill out this survey here.

Thank you!

Gratitude Pays Off Big Time

Okay, so in the previous video, I jumped off the sailboat into the sea, forgetting something important. Learn all about it here:

How to Adapt Your Morning "Power Hour" When Traveling

In this video update from the Caribbean, I share my "Power Hour" - especially the part about gratitude - and talk about how I sometimes adapt the Power Hour. You can do whatever is necessary to get the job done; the only thing that matters is getting all of your Most Important Things done first.

Watch for the part where I forget something very important before doing a cannonball into Road Harbour off Sir Francis Drake Channel in the British Virgin Islands.

Tomorrow I will post Part II of this video update on the power of making gratitude a daily habit.

Here's the 1st video:

You Are Not Alone!

Spending time on my Caribbean cruise has definitely given me some time to reflect. As I look back on my recent 14-day seminar tour, I am amazed by the contributions my workshop participants brought to the process.

I had spent several weeks mostly "cloistered" in intense preparation for the tour. I searched my memory banks for the best stories to illustrate my points, I pored through my favorite reference books to select the most precious pearls of wisdom to pass along.... I knew it was up to me, and only me, to create an experience of life-changing value for my attendees.

To be frank, I know better than this, but I forgot it for a minute. (Well, we are all on the road. None of us is "there" yet.)

What I forgot to count on were the profound stories the participants shared – of their pain, their passages, their shining moments of triumph. We all learned from each other and grew larger in the process.

It’s the same principle that’s at work in our BetterPhoto virtual classrooms. Students gain insights and expertise not only from the instructors, but from each other in the forums and campus squares as they kindly and constructively help each other grow.

I’m so gratified to be starting a process of growth, sharing, and community that goes BEYOND the skills of photography into every aspect of our lives.

If you believe you’re destined to be locked in a lonely struggle for fulfillment, CHALLENGE THAT BELIEF!! Reach out. Take a class. Sign up for a seminar. Join a community of creative self-improvers. We’ll take each other’s hands and multiply our courage to face life’s adventures together!

Identify the Star – in your photos, and in your life!

I often tell photography students to “first identify the ‘star,’ or main subject, of each photo.” This is a decision that often involves making sacrifices. As much as you may wish to include everything in your picture, selecting one main subject and letting other elements fade into the background will almost always create a better composition.
 
How perfectly this applies to our lives, as well!
 
We are often distracted and stressed by trying to do a little bit of everything, losing sight of our important goals amid the clutter and bustle. We may balk at the idea of “sacrifice” – putting some perfectly worthwhile, engaging activities on the back burner – but what we are really doing is exchanging those things for a BETTER thing: progress toward our most important goals in life.
 
Examine your life with the same appraising eye you turn on your photographs. Is the picture of your life filled with “clutter?” Would it make a good photographic composition, with the most important element front and center? (Or actually, front and 1/3 from the right, but that’s another topic.) 
 
Or have you lost sight of your CORE goals amid the CLUTTER of everyday DISTRACTIONS?
 
By the way (and you probably knew this was coming!), I have been having an awesome time discovering how many of photography’s key concepts of excellence apply directly to the deeper issues in our lives. In my hot-off-the-press book, “BetterPhoto Basics: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Taking Photos Like the Pros,” I “expose” hundreds of tips and tricks that instantly improve your photographic expertise. But the joy doesn’t stop there! In my upcoming Creative Confidence Weekend Workshops, we’ll move beyond becoming better photographers to becoming masters of our creative lives. By getting deeply into concepts like identifying the star, eliminating distraction, making selective sacrifices, and focusing, we’ll take those same tools that make us great photographers and apply them to putting our creative lives on track.
 
Does that sound great? I don’t know how you can resist! Perhaps you would consider sacrificing some everyday distractions and devoting a weekend to becoming the STAR of your own creative life! (I know you want to.)
 
Follow this link for more info. See you there!

BetterPhoto...Jason?

While Jim and his doppelganger assistant Jason, travel through uncharted waters (which I imagine to be much like Pirates of the Caribbean) and unable to connect to the internet, I've hacked into his blog to share a blooper reel from his newest book release,BetterPhoto Basics: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Taking Photos Like the Pros.

 

Enjoy! - Ana Davenport, BetterPhoto.com
 

Take a Chance!

Be bold, be open, even if you're a little afraid. Take a Chance!!

There is Always a Way

From BetterPhotoJim - drenched to the bone:

Live Demo: What Other People Think of You

is none of your business, because it has nothing to do with you.

Tuning in from the Dallas Fort Worth Airport, heerrrrrrrrrrrrrre's Jimmy:

Okay, there is one time when others' thoughts matter: constructive criticism. Feedback from friends who want to see you succeed is pure gold.

But too much of the time, we let our worries about negative, less well-meaning criticism stop us from doing our work and giving our creative best. 

As you can see in the video above, it's okay to be creative - few people will even bat an eye. Have fun!