These past few days, I spent my time in the company of several other photographers at the Image Quest 2010 Convention held at River Rock Casino Resort hoping to be informed and inspired. I came away from it all informed and inspired indeed.

Dane Sanders roused the crowd with his motivational talk about being ‘all in’; about committing wholeheartedly. Now there’s no doubt in my mind that I commit myself 100% to my work and all the great people I work with, but I also acknowledge the fact that I can always do better. I want to do better. I realize so much more how important it is to be ‘all in’ not only in my professional life, but also my personal life. Opportunity passes us, but only if we allow it to.

Marketing guru, Mitche Graf, gave a great talk that included a lot of marketing tips punched with videos to provide some comic relief that got the crowd releasing laughter-induced endorphins. Laughter is so so good, and I implore you to do as much of it as you can in your daily existence. I consider myself fortunate to be partnered in life with a husband who never ceases to make me laugh daily. Laughter is nourishment.

While I appreciated having several good laughs during Mitche’s talk, one major thing that resonated with me were the ideas of working smarter and making time to truly enjoy life. Of course, we all recognize the importance of working efficiently and taking time out to rest and relax, but how many of us actually use our time well and enjoy quality time with our loved ones? I can honestly say that I’ve gotten better over the years at managing my time and balancing my professional and personal life, but I can also honestly say that I, too, have to check myself once in a while. I know a lot of you work all day, stay up late, don’t get to bed with your spouses all the time, don’t exercise, and make a ton of excuses as to why you can’t take time off. But ask yourself…is it worth it?

Try setting regular work hours, devote time to exercising your body, take that vacation you’ve been wanting to take, and snuggle in bed with your spouse and read/laugh/do crossword puzzles together. Trust me…find balance in your life and watch how it affects your overall well being.

Speaking of balance and time management brings me to the topic of social media. We all use and love it, but are we spending copious amounts of time tweeting on Twitter, playing Farmville on Facebook, and watching endless Youtube videos? Yes, we are. Often times, we’re spending time that we don’t really have. I’m willing to bet that many of you out there lose hours in a day and sometimes even some sleep because you’re managing your online social life. Remember…less time online = more time in life. I have to remind myself of that every now and then.

At the same time, never before have we been more connected as a people with the help of the internet. My friends, Miranda and Reilly Leivers of Blue Olive Photography, spoke about how using social media can help us in our lives and businesses. They’re definitely on top of it and know what they’re talking about, impressing us even further by shooting the crowd and wirelessly uploading the images to Flickr. Technology is straight up crazy nowadays isn’t it?!? Hollaaa!!

Last but not least, the charismatic, Jasmine Star, preached to us about the merits of branding your online presence. She preached as if she were in cha-urch (not just regular church) and people often threw up their hands enthusiastically while proclaiming ‘Amen’! Jasmine puts herself out there for the world to meet and greet, and in the process of doing so, attracts exactly the kind of clients that she desires to work with. More than anything, I felt her heart and passion shine through and I was surprised to feel connected with Jasmine in a way I completely didn’t expect as her sense of humour and laughter reminded me so much of my sister. Then and there, I realized just how important it is for us to not be afraid to be our authentic selves and throw it out there for the world to either like it, love it, or leave it.

At the end of the three days, I felt moved and inspired. I think it’s just what I needed. I’m happy to have met a lot of my online friends in person…the love and acceptance I felt was incredible. It was also great to see a few of my old friends. I promise that I would see you all more often if there was a stretch of highway bridging the gap between here and there!

I leave you with a photo from a recent engagement session. This Vancouver couple caught the ferry and met me here in Victoria for a couple of hours, only to head right on back to the Mainland later that evening. Thank you Sharon & Gilbert!! *hugs*

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