“Why?” I responded.
“It’s just not happening for me. I know other photographers who are booked solid and I’m not. I’m just as good or better than those guys. You know that.”
“Yes, you are an incredible photographer. But before you make a move on prices, tell me a about your last five photo shoots.”
“Well, you know the Wilson’s?” he began. “I did their son’s senior shots. My neighbors rescue these dogs and I did some cool shots of some of their dogs. And I did the game for Hough high.”
“Okay, I got it,” I jumped in. “The problem is not your prices, it’s your focus.”
He stared at me for a moment and said, “I don’t know. I think it’s my prices.”
Imagine for a moment that a friend is getting married and she, of course, needs a photographer. Her wedding day, along with her graduation and birth of a child will be one of the most important days of her life. So, capturing the day is a big deal. A really big deal.
Now, let’s assume that she has been planning this day for years. As such, she has set aside the financial resources for a good photographer.
So, now, what does she do?
She consults with her friends, visits a few web sites and makes a few phone calls. She eventually invites three photographers to share their portfolios with her.
Photographer one is like my friend. He has incredible work but no wedding photos. However, his prices are really good. He rises to the top of her heap.
The next photographer’s work is okay, but her portfolio is mostly weddings. So, she gains her attention too. Her prices are roughly $300 higher than the first photographer’s.
Then there is the third photographer. He hands her a business card with a couple he shot on the back. Then he shows her his portfolio. It is composed entirely of wedding photos. His work? On par with the first photographer but not necessarily better. But he has one thing the first doesn’t - creative wedding shots that she has always dreamed of. She’s sold even though his prices are $800 higher than the first. “Besides,” she wonders, “this first guy can’t be a good wedding photographer if he’s that cheap. Why is he so cheap?”
Prices communicate. They tell a story. They say who you are and who you’re not.
Imagine, for example, someone walking up to you and offering you a fully-loaded 2012 S-series Mercedes for $25,000. Yeah, you would immediately know that it was stolen or some other scam was at play.
But higher prices also come with focus. This fact is made much clearer when you think about medicine. A brain surgeon is paid substantially more than a general surgeon. A cardiologist (a heart doctor) is paid substantially more than an internal medicine doc (a physician who sees adults for pretty much everything).
A gentleman came to one of my A Second Cup of Life workshops hoping to transition from a banker to a photographer. His passion? The history of buildings built before 1965. After a brief conversation, it became clear to me what he needed to do next.
Well, today he is fast becoming the go-to photographer for architects, remodeling companies, municipalities and publishers for period architecture. He is focused and his prices reflect that fact. Because he is one of only a few who specialize in such photography, he can practically name his price. And he does.
So, as you make your transition to doing the work that makes you happy, remember to focus. Pick a niche and get rich.
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I would pay my friend Harold $10,000 if he received a telephone call from Bob (not his real name) at a specified time on a specified date. Oh, and if Bob called, Harold would invest the money in Bob’s business. That’s it.
Okay, here’s what happened.
I met Bob shortly after a speech I gave on making a good living doing what makes you happy at a local college. Bob, a young man who had sought my counsel on launching a business, was eager, it seemed, to pick my brain. I was eager to share whatever I could.
And so we chatted until our conversation came to a close about ten minutes later. That’s when I called over my friend Harold and introduced him to Bob.
“Bob, this is the guy who will really help you get your business off of the ground. Get one of his cards and call him tomorrow at 10. Is that good for you?”
“Oh yes, that time is perfect. I really appreciate any help you can give me,” Bob said excitedly.
Harold reached into his sports jacket and produced a business card and handed it to Bob.
“Call me at this number,” Harold said as he circled a mobile number on his card.
“Okay, I will,” Bob, confirmed.
We all shook hands and went our separate ways.
As Harold and I had agreed a few days earlier, I arrived at his office the next day to discuss a current project. It was 9:30. However, before either one of us realized it, 10 a.m. had come and gone. It was 11:13 and no phone call had come from Bob.
“Just as I expected,” I said to Harold. “That’s why I made the wager Harold. I knew that he wouldn’t call.”
Smiling, Harold began, “But you said that he was a good student. An excellent student. Didn’t you say that he was involved in a number of student activities?”
“I did,” confirming Harold’s question. “But he hasn’t started anything Harold. Everything that’s he’s involved in was already there. It didn’t require any hustle from him. In some cases he just needed to show up. He hasn’t felt the need to follow up. And as you know, follow up is everything.”
“No doubt,” Harold began. “I’ve gotten pretty much everything that I have from following up.”
“As you know, I have too Harold.”
And so, the deal was done. Bob didn’t call and I didn’t have to ante up the grand. However, it would have been a great investment for the right person – one who follows up.
Here’s the bottom line of this simple experiment: Those who follow up win and those who don’t, well, don’t. That’s it. Success can’t get any simpler than that.
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"I'm proud of you guys," he said cheerfully, completely unaware of our true feelings. "Your work always gets turned in on time,” I can remember him saying. “You guys are so efficient. No team is as committed as you guys."
Committed? Hmmmm. Okay, a word on commitment in a moment.
But he was right about one thing: No team did it like us. We moved through mountains of paper like a well-oiled machine. The work came in and went out. And we always finished hours early.
Yep, we were speed demons. But that's exactly what you become when you are bored and completely uninspired with your work. You want to get it over as fast as you can. And we did.
But were we committed? Absolutely not! Not even close.
Were we compliant? Yes. No question about it. We received our work orders and we complied.
But we certainly weren’t committed. And that's where most managers fall short - confusing compliance with commitment.
You see, commitment sits at the heart of passion. You automatically become committed to an activity for which you have a passion. You get lost in time. It becomes fun even when it’s exhausting – like running long distances. That’s why passion is such a critical component of a second cup experience – the process of making a living doing what makes you happy. It connotes steadfastness towards some end. It is an active commitment, not passive. Passion requires your direct involvement. Reading about playing golf is not the same as playing it.
So, how do you know if what you are feeling is passion or simply a strong interest in something?
First, passion leaves clues. There's a history that can be traced to a specific behavior. You won’t know that you are passionate about 1960’s rock until you listen to it. But then there’s the commitment to a continuous set of activities that fuels the passion. It may be your encyclopedic knowledge about the era, frequent visits to conferences, regular chats with like-minded individuals or your vast record collection. But there will be clues. Lots of them. And if you can’t readily identify these clues in your life, then it’s simply an interest.
Are you passionate about something? Are you committed to it? Well then, fill that second cup!
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Okay, here’s how it all went down.
“I’m really concerned about the schools around here,” one neighbor began.
“Yeah, we just don’t have that many good schools in this area,” another chimed in.
“We’ve been talking about moving in order to put our kids in school in the Davidson area. All of the schools are good up there,” another concluded.
As you can imagine, the chat went on like this for a while. Perhaps you have participated in a few like this.
Now, stay with me because it really gets interesting.
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What exactly is a liberal? Any thoughts?
Okay, what about a conservative?
Let's try a few more.
What really is a capitalist or corporation? Are they the same? Are you sure?
Alright, here's a question that you most definitely have the answer to: How do you feel about each of these terms? What are your feelings about liberals or, say, conservatives?
I'll stop with the questions. But I'm trying to make a point. A point, by the way, you will most definitely get in a moment.
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Seems far-fetched? Okay, here it is.
What story has your life told up to this point?
Take a moment and think about that question. What story has your life told up to this point?
Well, if you are like 99% of the thousands I’ve posed this question to, you are struggling for an answer. But don’t sweat it. There’s a perfectly good reason why you are finding great difficulty in answering it.
You see, it’s impossible to tell a story that you didn’t write.
Did you get that?
Again, it’s impossible to tell such a story that you didn’t write.
Okay, so if you didn’t write your story, then who did?
Well, your parents, politicians, pastors, professors and pundits did the writing. Yep, they told you, in one form or another, who you must become when you “grow up”. Ah, yes, they wrote your first story – filled your first cup. But there’s good news. You can write a new story. Yes, you can fill your second cup. And that’s precisely why I wrote A Second Cup of Life.
So, I have one more question: Are you ready to write a story that is based on your life purpose, deepest passions and long-held dreams? Are you ready to fill your second cup? The time is now!
