Earlier this week, I attended the What’s Next workshop in Los Angeles, hosted by my two favorite photographers on the planet, Justin & Mary Marantz! Seriously, check out their work! It’s totally classic and iconic and 100% swoon-worthy!

But this workshop wasn’t about taking pretty pictures. It was about getting down to the nitty gritty, and there were times when the ugly truth was just right there in front of you, and you just had to look it in the eye and not back down! The What’s Next Tour is about identifying and understanding your fears so that you can move past them. It’s about daring to dream, and setting goals so that the dream is within your reach!

For the past 6 months, all Matt and I have been doing is trying to survive. Trying to sell the house, pack up our lives and move across the country while still giving 100% to our couples. For the last 3 months of the year we were living a bi-coastal life, flying back and forth to complete the busiest part of our wedding season. It wasn’t more than we could handle, but it meant that all we were able to do was live in the NOW. There certainly was no time for planning what’s next.

Even on the way to Los Angeles, I thought of all the things that I needed to work on. The to do list that keeps on growing, despite this being the “slow” part of the year. I even called Matt at one point and said, “Would it be crazy if I just turned around?” It’s so easy to make excuses. But I went in and I started hearing all of the stories of other photographers who, like me, had fears. Had obstacles. Had obligations. But they, too, were there because they wanted more for themselves and for their businesses.

My first goal from the workshop was to get my business cards ordered. That sounds like a small task, but it was one of those things on the to do list that kept getting pushed back. So Mary challenged me to get them ordered yesterday. I was about to go to bed because Matt and I couldn’t decide on a design, but I got up and I was determined to complete it. I submitted my order at 11:59pm! Because if I couldn’t reach this one small goal, how was I going to finish the big ones?

We knew we put a lot on the line when we made the decision to move to California, but we felt that personally and professionally it was the right decision. Though we are starting over, it’s not completely from the beginning. We bring with us a wealth of experience and knowledge (sometimes learned the hard way). So now we are sitting down to look at what has worked over the past 5 years, and what hasn’t, and dream big for our goals for the next 5 years! I am really excited about the changes we are talking about making, and I have some crazy dreams of what I’d like to see for our business!

And while we’re dreaming, I went ahead and signed up for the test to be a contestant on Jeopardy! Maybe next I’ll audition for The Voice! : )

Justin & Mary are officially rock stars! I totally wanted to get a tour of the bus!