Member, Professional Photographers of America

personal

Priorities

Priorities.  Such a big word!  We all have them and they vary significantly from person to person and from family to family.  There's no right or wrong.  It's simply a matter of perspective.  

I found myself looking at my own priorities this past weekend and I realized that I had a different set of priorities for myself, my family, and my career.  They all weave together, yet remain separate.  Here's the list I came up:

Myself:  My health is my priority - physical, mental, and social/emotional.  I don't like feeling less than 100%.  

Family:  Anyone that knows me knows that I care deeply for my family.  I'd seriously be lost without them!  A priority for my family is to remain close and capture all the memories that we can while we can.  Sometimes memories are captured on camera, yet other times the memories are just captured in our minds.  

Career:  I made the decision in 2012 to resign from teaching and stay home with my children.  This meant our family's income was going to drop.  I started my photography business as a side job to earn some money to supplement my husband's salary.  Since that time, my business has grown more than I could have ever imagined and it is now a sustainable source of income.  It is now my full time career.  The entire reason for working at it so hard is to help provide an income for my family that will enable my husband and I to give our children everything that they need...not want...but need.  It is my priority to make sure that I am contributing financially to our household.

I challenge you to think about your priorities.  What is it that you value for yourself, your family, for your career?  Do your actions reflect those priorities?  How do you know? 

I'm friends with many of my clients on social media.  I hope they see these priorities in my life and realize that I am a genuine, caring individual that values everyone because I believe that everyone I come in contact with has something to teach me.  We all learn from one another...sometimes we learn lessons from others....sometimes we learn facts....and sometimes we just learn how to be a better person.  

I truly appreciate every one of you and I want you to know that I have learned a lot from each of you.  I LOVE learning!  After all, I'm an educator at heart.