It's 2:45am and I'm here in front of my MacBook doing my very best to stay focused on the "important" things I'm supposed to get done before I go to sleep tonight. One of which is an email interview for an upcoming magazine feature with questions like..

"Update me a little bit on what you’ve been doing since we last spoke in 2005. Anything new you’ve implemented into your wedding workflow."

and...

"How would you describe your particular style in shooting weddings? What makes you stand out from the rest of the wedding photographers?

It's always hard for me to answer interview questions. Maybe because I know that hundreds of peers will be reading my answers or more likely it's because I sometimes forget what sets me apart from other photographers out there. I mean... all of us are just making it up as we go right? We somehow have a vision in our heads of who we want to be and where we want to go and we just move forward with one eye open hoping we don't trip or run into a wall along the way.

An ex-employer asked me a question once when I was getting ready to leave his studio to start my own business. His question went something like this, "Mike, what makes you think you're any different from the hundreds of photographers out there trying to make a living? What are you going to do that isn't being done already? How are you going to succeed? Have you ever stopped to think about that?"

I don't exactly know why, but I've always had a quiet (maybe false) sense of confidence. I like to think I've found favor in the eyes of God but I don't know that for sure... it's just a result of so many things going right in my life that I can't really take credit for. My mom told me once that I have the Midas touch and everything I touch turns to gold. I love my mom ;) I'm sure she told that to my brother and sister too! Well, I couldn't answer my soon-to-be ex-boss's question without sounding like an idiot so I just kept my mouth shut and shrugged my shoulders. If I didn't care what he thought of me, I would have said what was so obvious to me at the young, know-it-all age of 22, "It's me. I'm different. There's only one of me so that makes me one of a kind. Isn't that enough to be successful?"

I remember how confident I was. There was nothing that was going to hold me back from pursuing and realizing my dream of owning my own photography business and making a decent living doing what I loved so much.

Looking back, my expections weren't exactly in the clouds. All I wanted was to be able to do something fun as a career, afford to drive a new (or at least newer) vehicle instead of my 10 year old small pick-up, and eventually be able to move out on my own so I could start a family.

I never actually thought that I could take this so far. I didn't put a cap on my dreams but I never expected to find the kind of success I've found. God really must have a plan for my life because I can honestly say that I don't know what I am doing here or how I got here.

That reminds me of a song that I must have heard a thousand times while folding Levis at Miller's Outpost in the Buena Park Mall when I was sixteen. It was a song by Talking Heads called "Once in a Lifetime" . The lyrics went... "And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile, And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful Wife, And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?

I ask myself that question every day. Can't help but wonder when this dream will end and I'll wake up to find myself back in my little apartment in Fullerton living with my dad.

Is it bad to have an ongoing feeling that I'm due for some kind of tragedy in my life? Is God setting me up higher so I can fall further just to build character in me? hmmm... deep thoughts, I must be overly tired. Logan is to blame. I can hear him starting to stir and make the funny noises he makes when he's getting hungry. uh oh

There's a sign near the entrance to the 73 toll road at Jamboree that says in big letters AIV (all in vain). I read it every time I get on the toll road to go to a shoot. It reminds me that I don't want to be 80 years old and thinking about how I never made a difference. I want to be used by God in whatever way. It may just be to take care of my family and point my kids towards heaven or I might end up in on the other side of the world preaching the Gospel to fifty thousand heads. I guess God knows right?

Ok, now back to the "important" stuff. It was fun rambling. Thanks for reading :)

Oh, the moral to what I originally started this post for was something along the lines of - You have no competition because there is only ONE of you on this earth. Embrace that fact and let it carry you in your art, your business, and your confidence! http://www.mikecolon.net/blog/2007/01/its-...ront-of-my.html

Mike, you always have such a optimistic outlook on life. You are very blessed with that appears to be a wonderful family and a great career. Thanks for always being so inspiring.

Whew! the moral: You have no competition because there is only one of you, is now written in black sharpie on the bottom of a polaroid that my mom told me was boring. Thank you for your words, Mike.

This was so nice to read. Thank you for posting this, Mike.

Hey there,

Thanks for this read... I think the same way in a lot of what you shared and all I know is that it's all about G R A C E. In Isaiah 49:16 (I believe) it says that our walls are continually before him and that we are engraved in the palms of His hands. Not just one palm but PALMS. Wow! Everything and anything that touches us is sifted through His fingers of love and as it is being sifted through He is looking right at our faces (that's how I imagine it anyway) LOL.

Have a great day and TFS.

Wow, wasn't prepared for this when I clicked the link. Very nice post Mike. Liked it a lot. Hm, I need to read some interview with you.

Thanx for those word Mike. It has really helped me today. Not having a good one in Maryland right now. Will have to print this and post it in my office.

Be Well:)
Andy

That was great. Thank you so much for sharing that. Very uplifting and a great lift to my week.

Thanks Mike,

Eric

Wow! I can be pretty good at forgetting this sometimes...even though I say it to my kids all of the time. There's no one like them in the universe...that's what makes them special. Funny how you can say that a million times and somehow not realize it applies to you too...



Thanks, Mike.

I really enjoyed reading this, thanks.

yea, Mike!! That is what it is all about. You are not selling your work, you are creating relationships. There are so many people with different tastes out there, we can't be all things to all people. There is plenty of work to go around and diversity is what keeps it interesting.