I don't keep it a secret that I have a day job.  It's your regular ol' 8-5 cubicle type job. I like this job. It is not my passion, but I can't complain. I work for a great company that believes in good morale and taking care of it's employees.

In the location that I am at we have a yearly Easter egg hunt. In the eggs we find candy, money vouchers, and there's one vacation day in an egg on each floor. It's exciting and fun. One great woman puts in a lot of work to pull this off for hundreds of employees. I found out this year no one helped her hide all these eggs. She is amazing. I think next year I will be volunteering. I normally don't volunteer because it is done on a Wednesday night and I have church after work. Well, I think I'm going to make an exception and hang back next year.

Morale is so important. With my own business, I am the only one responsible for my attitude and feelings towards my work. I have to pump myself up, I have to give myself pep talks, and I have to invest in myself. I am my own boss and policy maker.

We can be so hard on ourselves. Some days I get so bummed out on a bombed shoot or an empty calendar. Then the following week when the clients of the "bombed" shoot gush over the images or I get 3 inquiries or bookings my spirits are lifted.  I have to remember to lift my own spirits. There will be a day that someone won't be happy with my work. There will be slow times and there will be clients that I don't "mesh" with. There will be (gulp) unhappy clients one day. It's the nature of the business and of having human interactions in this world. I will not please everyone, not everyone will be tripping over their own feet to book me. I am not the world's (or the town's) greatest photographer.

THAT'S OK! I can not let the negative things about my art, working for someone, or running a business keep me down. With whatever career you have chosen you are responsible for your own morale. That's not always easy, especially if you're one of those unfortunate souls that can not say one good thing about the company you work for or the work you do.

We all get discouraged. We aren't always prepared for that. We are told that "You can be president if you want." or "You are amazing and can do anything!" Well, Ok, you are amazing, at least to someone. There is someone who thinks the world of you. Whether it's your spouse, a teacher, or your mom. Most importantly, though, you have to be one of those people.

Step back every day and tell yourself the positives, THEN work on those negatives. For me if I bombed a shoot I need to learn from it. If I learn from a mistake, it is no longer a mistake, but a lesson.  I have to step back and talk myself through it. I am responsible for my own attitude in the work I do, I am responsible for my own happiness. So step back, and give yourself a pep talk.