In a recent school assignment my son had to write a paragraph about someone who inspired him. His friends were writing about professional athletes, well known business icons, and movie stars who did part-time philanthropy gigs.
He was clearly having difficulty in picking someone, because whoever he chose, his paragraphs ended up sounding very academic – there was no real connection to them, so the writings were very surface level and bland.
I suggested that he find inspiration from someone in his own life, rather than someone who was famous. He thought about it for maybe 5 seconds and said, “I got it!” 20 minutes later, I was able to read a wonderful tribute to my father, Brian’s grandpa.
So I started thinking – who in my life has inspired me? I’ll stretch beyond the obvious family and close friends, and find a business inspiration.
An Inspirational client
One of my favorite clients ever was a guy named Bobby Beck . He was trying to create a start up company – an online animation school. He had been in the animation industry for many years, but he saw something missing in the teaching of apprentice animators.
So he came up with this idea: give animation students the opportunity to learn from those who had already made it in the industry by setting up a mentoring program.
They could take courses on line, rather than drive or relocate to a brick and mortar school, and get feedback and guidance from experts who had already ‘been there.’ In the early 90s online education in any form was a new concept – and he was creating an actual school to this platform, something that few had done before him, at least to this vision’s magnitude.
As with any start-up, it was a tremendous uphill battle. It cost him a ton of money. He went days without sleeping. His personal relationships suffered. He had to go through miles of paperwork alone.
But the whole time, he just kept saying, “It’s gonna be so cool. I have no idea how it’s gonna happen, but I can see it – and it’s gonna happen.” Even on his most challenging days, there was still a smile in his voice and that made it easy to believe him.
6 years later, AnimationMentor.com is an accredited, multi-million dollar online school, teaching thousands of animation students all over the world. His vision accomplished, he’s now considering selling his online platform to other industries – a goal he wasn’t even thinking about when he started in 1994.
Why he is an inspiration -
- Tenacity
He was tenacious - It was as if nothing could stop him. He wasn’t crude or mean about it, he just kept going till he got what he wanted. Obstacles were just in the way until he got around them. No big deal.
- Passion
He was passionate – he loved his work. He wanted others to learn it. I know this passion got him through tough times.
- Live in the unknown
He didn’t know everything – The fact that he was able to admit to ‘not knowing’ really helped him. He was free to be a trailblazer, make mistakes, chart victories, and remember what worked for next time. It was refreshing.
- Wonder
He learned to wonder about stuff – along the same lines of not knowing, but beyond. He got into the habit of saying “I wonder what would happen if….” Anytime he got stuck – he thought freely and creatively, without worries or shame.
This is what inspires me to build my photography business.
What inspires you?
Until next photo -
Rem
(Remy’s dream is creating opportunities for photography showings and public displays of her work and to ultimately be recognized nationally as a photographer … then the world. Remy’s post day is Friday)
DREAM GOAL: TO HAVE A GALLERY SHOWING OF HER BEST PHOTOGRAPHS
Remy’s dream is creating opportunities for photography showings and public displays of her work and to ultimately be recognized nationally as a respected photographer . . . then the world. Remy is CEO of Cornerstone Creative, a business consulting practice in Northern California. Remy’s post day is Wednesday. +Remy Gervais
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