Adventure – an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.
Life is an adventure, even if surrounded by big tall buildings. The journey of my life path is in a direction of total unexpectation. From the encouragement of family and friends, I am embarking on an adventure I could have never dreamed. From May through October, I will be setting up a tent and selling my framed photographs along West Street in Annapolis, MD at the First Sunday’s Art Festival.
If only my high school football coach could see me now. The rough and tough, hard headed linebacker and hunting guide has turned into an artist. I can surely say, I didn’t see that one coming.
Over the winter, I have gone through all of the photographs on my hard drive, over 10,000, reviewing, grading, selecting and editing. What I have ended up with is my latest catalog of photographs that speak to me and hopefully will speak to others. But good photos with catchy phrases is not enough, so I turned to a friend at Gizmos Art for matting and framing.
If life is an adventure – Then dreams can become attainable goals
My mother quoted an old proverb to me the other day when we were talking about me selling my photographs. “A goal without a plan is just a dream.” We hear those cute little sayings all the time but how often do we act on them?
I guess another cliché for my current direction of adventure would be, “Nothing ventured nothing gained.” So I’ve stepped up and spent a whole lot of money, to me at least, and am putting my best efforts toward preparing a professional looking display of my framed photographs for sale. The goal is to make enough money by the end of the summer to purchase the parts and build my new truck into the adventure vehicle I need for the more wild backwoods adventures my soul requires.
This is where the reality of dreams verses goals comes into play. Instead of making a grand declaration of wanting to get rich and living off the millions I’m going to make by selling the next great photograph, I set achievable goals such as making a set amount of money in a given time. Once that goal is achieved, then it will be time to move the line in the sand and set another goal with a new plan of action.
Risk assessment should be a part of any life action plan. The risk here is nothing more than a few thousand dollars lost and plenty of Christmas gifts for family and friends left over from the non-sales. The worst case scenario would be not selling any photographs and having lost the money and time I put into making the shows. I can live with that. The upside ultimately would be a new business that provides me with the means to further my travels exploring new places and experiences. Sounds like a worthy endeavor to me.
Of course if you can’t make it to Annapolis and want one of my photos,you can purchase them online by clicking the smiley face.
