The advantages of being a morning person

What are the benefits of waking up earlier?

We all love to sleep, but the pros of starting your day earlier can definitely out weight the cons.

I always been a morning person. Even when I was younger. For me there is just something exciting about getting a head start on the day. A lot of the successful get a jumpstart by waking up earlier. I think it's good to adopt some habits of the successful and incorporate it into your routine.

As long as I’ve been a morning person, these are some of the advantages I've witnessed first hand.

1. Setting the tone of your Day

Seamoss is known to carry 92 out of 102 minerals that the body needs, with plenty of other health benefits as well. Black seed oil is also great for the immune system and your overall health and well being. Both are a great way to kick off your morning in the right direction!

Movies have a beginning, middle and end. Same for stories they have a beginning middle and end. Albums, music usually has a introduction. Something to set forth the tone and tempo for everything else. And mornings are no different.

Think about when you wake up groggy or cranky? The rest of your day usually feeds off of that same vibe right? Waking up earlier and taking control of your day, owning your day as I like to stay, I believe is one of the ways to having a better day overall.

2. The World Around you is Standing Still

Just think about your day and everything in it. How busy it might be, how much it consumes you. How many people might require your attention, the responsibilities. Just every single thing in your day.

I like waking up early because the norm tells us we should still “be sleep” The rest of the world is silent. This may be the quiet time you need to be creative, productive and focus on things you usually didn't have time for during your normal hour.

And lastly..

3. It Helps Maximize your Time

I feel like one of the main advantages of being a morning person is maximizing your day. If time is money why wouldn't you want to maximize your time? But not even about money, When you wake up earlier and be productive earlier you just feel accomplished. And you’ll have more time in your day to focus on whatever it is you want to focus on.

If you’re looking for suggestions to help you become a morning person, here are a few tips…

1. Have Something to Look Forward too

I always prefer morning workouts. Less people, less distractions and more time to knock out your routine. Just some advice, set aside some time in the day for a nap. Waking up earlier and exercising early you’ll need to recover. Between 12 - 2pm i’ll usually wine down and try to get a nap in.

Wake up earlier and set something up for yourself to do. If you don’t have anything planned, you'll be more likely to sleep in later. People eat out of boredom, sleep out of boredom, and procrastinate simply because they don’t have the day prepared. Avoid this growing snowball & simply start by having a plan. Plan that workout, that workout class. It can even be simple as waking up earlier just to to iron your clothes or making a decent breakfast.

As long as you have something to wake up for, you'll have motive to get out of bed.

2. Plan the night before

I just started setting these daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals in my notes. Planning helps having something to look forward too. By planning the night or day prior, it just makes you want to get it done the next day. It's like tricking yourself in a good way.

3. Start small

Start in increments. Try waking up at 7:30 for a week, the next week try 7, the following week try 6:30. Take it on in smaller pieces and you'll be more likely to get it done. Until it becomes second nature to wake up at your desired time just challenge yourself each week to wake up a little earlier.

I’m not a coffee drinker, but I love making tea. Usually in the morning and before bed. My favorite is this cinnamon apple spice flavor. Boil it with fresh ginger then add fresh lime juice and honey. Great way to relax and mellow your day.

Whole oats are incredibly nutritious and a great way to spark your morning. This is the recipe i’ve been following

1 cup of rolled oats, 1 cup of oat milk, 1 cup of water, sliced banana, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, teaspoon of honey, and a bunch of cinnamon : )

In Conclusion

Are you a morning person? Do you have a routine in general? Or can you see yourself becoming a morning person? Be real with yourself and let me know in the comments

After a workout, or with a meal i’ll usually have a homemade smoothie. This banana strawberry recipe is great and filling after exercising. It includes 1 banana, handful of strawberries, handful of blueberries, two or three ice cubes, cup of oat milk, teaspoon of honey, and two tablespoons of chia seeds!

As a creative, How to work with difficult clients?

Looking to make money as a Creative?

In any business you're going to come across obstacles and perhaps difficult clients. Let’s talk about ways to identify and overcome these experiences?

1. Build your Brand & Value

Companies & corporations don’t chase clients. They build their brand and value to attract a target audience. The same should go for you, Don’t chase the bag, attract the bag. As a creative or small business this should be the first focal point.

Attract the kind of consumer you WANT instead of chasing the kind of customer you think you NEED.

Build yourself, get great at what you're doing, and market yourself to your target audience. Everything else will fall into place.

2. Realize that People Spend $ on What They Value

Do you have the friend that saved up money for that designer belt or designer purse? but they don’t have life insurance?

Yea we all know that person. You might be that person, No judgement here. Point is…

Everyone has money, some type of money. we all have to eat, travel to work everyday, we all have to have a place to live. Everyone has some type of money. It’s just how we prioritize our money. When a person is hesitate about spending money for your service or product they simply don't see 100% value in your product or service yet.

We go to Walgreens and Starbucks everyday and give strangers our debit cards without hesitation. We trust banks full of strangers with our hard earn money with no hesitation. But then when it comes to you they don't want to pay that invoice? They don’t want to swipe their card on your card reader? Why is that?… Value. We see the value in these different companies. But going back to building your brand, when you build your brand it raises your value. Attracting the customers that have faith in you. These are the customers that we want to sustain a relationship with.

3. Don't Enable Difficult Clients 

The last thing you want to do is make a bad situation worst.

This would be an example of enabling a person. Let’s say we have a customer inquiring, but is still hesitant about your rate. Then you turn around and offer that person a discount to conclude the sale. You allowed the client to dictate the narrative and you enable them for future business. I know we hear the phase "The customer is always right" but is the customer always right? Don’t operate out of a sense of desperation, even if you are in a desperate state. Operate from a place of abundance. Ultimately you’ll end up making better decisions.

Taking on the 1 or 2 clients that was a pleasure to work with is better than the 5 or 6 clients that were a headache. 

In Conclusion

At the end of the day you just have to ask yourself who are you ? And who are you looking to become?
Step 1 for me is so important. It sets a smoother stream flow for everything else. Ultimately bringing your business or service the clientele you deserve.

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Overcoming the fear of talking to the camera

How to Speak better on Camera?

I wasn’t always able to be confident on camera. These are a few ways I was able to turn that around and become a natural speaker on camera.

Public speaking and speaking to the camera is a skill. The average person is afraid of public speaking. I'm going to share some ways I was able to overcome that fear of talking to the camera. These tips will help record better YouTube videos, become more confident with public speaking, crush that zoom meeting and so much more. Wherever there is a camera, you’ll be ready!

Now for the record I'm your average guy. I'm not a YouTube specialist and I never thought I would be able to be transparent on camera. I knew I wanted to give it a shot and share my experience and opinions as a photographer.

For starts my videos sucked, but I've noticed that i’ve gotten better over time by applying what i’m about to share with you.

It's only a camera, It doesn’t have a personality, it cannot judge you. It's simply a piece of equipment.

Fear holds us back from so many things. If this is something you want to attempt you cannot be afraid. You have to tackle that fear head on. It's funny how we overthink things, Think about it like this… It's only a camera, It doesn’t have a personality, it cannot judge you. It's simply a piece of equipment. So why do we get so uncomfortable when the red light goes on? Like really thing about that. Be a bulldog, shake it off and be confident. Get what you have to say out.

If you're nervous about vlogging, I have news for you… nobody cares. Not in a bad way but people aren’t going to point at you like "Omg he’s vlogging". We pull out our phones FaceTime and take selfies all the time. Once you take the time to dissect what you're really afraid of, which may be expressing yourself in public or to a camera, you’ll be less afraid.

Just like anything else, Whatever you practice you'll literally get better. Practice in the mirror. Make your first 5 or 10 videos just to get in the habit of talking to the camera. This will help you warm up and find your rhythm. You don’t have to publish them. Archive them to always have as an reference.

3. It's ok to pause

It's not a sprint it's a marathon. It's ok to pause and think about what you want to say. People do this in Interviews all the time. Think about your favorite muscian, actress, entertainer, and watch a interview of that person. Observe and see how they conduct their interviews. Everyone’s personality differs, but study and see what you can pull from watching the interview. Me personally I watch a lot of interviews including 50 cent & Nipsey hussle. Will Smith is another great speaker. See what you can pull and apply to make yourself more comfortable when you're speaking to the camera. No one is perfect, you don’t have to be perfect. But it’s important to just be yourself.

This relates to us sometimes getting in our own way and building anxiety about things. Once I stopped caring about any judgment I can potentially receive from my videos, I noticed they started to get a lot better. Being nervous is normal.. But fear, doubt, and overthinking can hold you back from so much. Throw all of that away, Reset, and simply just be yourself.

Act like you're talking on the phone. When you're on the phone you're not second guessing yourself or overthinking things. Treat talking to the camera the same way.

In Conclusion

These are literally a few things that helped me thus far on making better YouTube videos. I hope they can help you as well. For others that have any tips on making better videos feel free to leave them down below in the comments.

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3 Ways to take BETTER photos

Do you want to take better photos?

These are 3 things to consider the next time you take a photo. Whether you’re looking to become a better photographer or simply want to take better pictures for your Instagram, these are three key components to consider that make a phenomenal image.

1. What is your image selling?

There is a reason why billboards, ads and commercials snatch our attention. They’re intentionally designed to speak to the need or want to an specific audience. Does your image convey this same feeling? This might pertain more towards print and product photography/modeling but overall what is your image selling? What is the person viewing your image going to take away from it?

2. Does your image tell a story? 

Above its one of my premier best selling prints. It’s the only print I offer that tells a specific story. This moment will be a staple in history. Think about your favorite movie, show, play, book, and song. Usually there is a foundation, from which we can depict a story. A beginning, middle and end. A base, something intriguing for us to follow. A dynamic series of shifts to keep us on the end of our seats and in tuned to the story.

What story is your photo telling?

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3. Does your image show emotion?

Above is one of my advertisements. The headline is clear, The picture is an clear representation of emotion followed up with a question for the viewer. The family is showing feelings of joy and happiness. As a consumer, when I look at this photo I become happy, I want to be happy, I want this same feeling of happiness.

A great image has the power to inflict emotion from the viewer. How intentional is your photo for striking a specific emotion?

In Conclusion

Be intentional about creating images and also how viewer will receive your photographer. Apply any of these tips and you’re on your way to some promising photos! 😊