W04 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

1.  If you pursue your calling with discipline, intentionality, and the help of fellow travelers, what are the chances that your worst case scenario will really happen?

-When putting worst-case scenarios like that, they almost seem silly and not very likely. I think if we really pursue your calling with discipline and integrity, you will be proud of the work you do no matter the outcome.

2.  As you look at your list of fears, what themes emerge? What is at the core of what you really fear? Financial ruin? The judgment or disapproval of others? Physical harm? Endangering the ones you love? Embarrassment?

-A theme of fears where I am fearing something if I am unprepared and don’t plan, as well as fearing the judgment of others. That has always been a weakness of mine, comparing myself to others. Even as a little girl, my mom talks about how I struggled to compare to other people. Also,  my fear of planning a workshop to teach other photographers & people interested in photography is that no one will sign up. So I need to figure out my worth and help other people realize that as well and help them realize how important this workshop is.

3.  What is the risk of taking no action – not following your calling? How do you plan to deal with fear when it pops up on your entrepreneurial journey?

- For me, taking no action will lead to serious regret. It is hard to not look back and regret some things I didn’t take the time and energy to do or study. For the longest time I wanted to be a photographer because I liked taking pictures and helping people feel their best in pictures, but I could never figure out a strong why. Now that I’ve been through school, I have been feeling that teaching others is where I truly want to be. Realizing where I want to be will help me deal with that fear, when I feel so strongly and passionate about it.

W04 Activity: Weekly Note Journal

I learned this week how important it is to be fully invested in my spouse. To hear what he has to say, and really listen. It has been hard since my husband struggles with chronic pain to talk about anything else, and I've learned I've become a lot less sympathetic because it has been so hard on me. I'm learning about my character and what I've been struggling with, and how I can be a better spouse for him.

W03 Activity: Weekly Note Journal

• Two sentences that capture an "aha!" moment when you clearly understood how a principle applied to your own life.
  
  While reading "How I Predict Divorce", I was shocked at how some couples talk to each other. I am extremely grateful for how my husband and I communicate after reading that chapter. We've never talked about divorce in the 7 years we've been married, but I am grateful that we communicate in a respectful and understanding way to each other. Another part that stood out to me in the chapter, was the talk about the 4 horsemen. While we haven't struggled too bad, there are some instances here and there where I can remember feeling contempt. One of those times I was easily frustrated with my husband because he had to sleep with earplugs every night. If he didn't, he didn't sleep well at all. Once we started having kids, it was up to me to take care of them all night because he never heard them. But, once I communicated that I was having a hard time he said it was fine to wake him up, so I wasn't doing it all by myself. I am grateful we could communicate in a respectful and understanding way over this small but hard phase we were at with very small kids.

W03 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

This week, the videos about ethics really hit home for me. I've always thought of myself as a good person but physically writing down what I believed in and who I want to be was eye-opening. In the videos of Frank Levinson I thought it was interesting how he had a man who was ethically ok, but he still tried to find someone better for the job. He thought he found someone better, but he turned out to be a huge jerk that fired Frank instead. I've been thinking of this scenario, and how hard it can be sometimes to really know if someone is as ethical as they seem or claim to be. I believe this is why we need to stay close to the Holy Ghost, so we can listen to those promptings. There could be something to learn from this situation, where Frank did hire an unethical guy that ended up getting him fired. It could have been for the better because Frank might not be where he is today because he learned the hard way. I think this is how we need to look at our lives, as a chance to learn from the hard situations and grow stronger because of it. When we have business failures or hardships, it is easy to look back on those situations to see how we learned and grew from it. How do we appreciate the hard times, when we're in the thick of those situations? I believe this is where the gospel perspective comes in handy. We will all have hardships and trials, but having the gospel perspective will help guide us through the trials. I am looking forward to learning how I can grow my business, in the sense of facing those trials and growing from them. In the future, I am excited to look back on everything I have accomplished and learned from, and look at those trials and hardships as a blessing to make me stronger. 

FAML 110 Marriage Skills: Weekly Journal

This week I learned how important it is in a marriage to communicate your needs. Men and women are so different, and as marriage goes on it is especially important to keep communicating your needs. Even though my husband and I have only been married 7 years, we've gone through some health struggles and I've noticed how our communication has gone down and our expectations in the marriage have changed without telling the other person which has caused a lot of frustrations for both people. I've noticed that when I get frustrated about something, I tend to hold it in until I am ready to communicate. I think this can be good and bad for our relationship. Good because I'm waiting to communicate when I'm ready so I don't speak out of frustration, and bad because it can leave my husband in the dark not knowing how I'm feeling. What I find interesting is that men and women are so different and have different needs, but we need each other. I think how things that don't come easy are the most worth it, just like marriage.

W02 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

This week's reflection has been more about my why. As a photographer, I've always wanted to take pretty pictures for people but I've never been able to find a strong why. I’ve taught people how to use their DSLR cameras here and there, but nothing too serious. The thought of being a photographer the rest of my life overwhelms me a bit because it comes with a high price of continually revolving around other’s schedules. I’ve always had a fear of missing out on my kids growing up because my job is too demanding. That’s why I’ve been thinking so much about teaching, but I don’t know how to get started or where to start. I see a lot of other photographers teaching, and I want to learn from them too. Maybe that would be a good start, learning from other photographers? Something I learned this week is how important it is to treat life as an “experiment”. What if I create a workshop and no one signs up, what can I do differently the next time in order to sell myself better, and teach people the value they’d get by signing up? By treating my job as an experiment, I need to realize that it is ok to fail and try something different. How can I target more people next time? What can I do to add more value to what I’m going to teach? I love working with people and being friendly, loving, and empathetic is something I pride myself at being good at. This week has helped me realize how important teaching a photography class would be to me, and how I know I’ll want to do it in the future when I’m older. I don’t see myself taking family pictures for the rest of my life since it is such a time and evening commitment when I could be spending that time with my family. That is why I am drawn to the idea of teaching more than ever, especially when I’m older.

Picture by: Molly Kate Studio

September 21st, 2019 - Entrepreneur’s Journal

Right now as an entrepreneur, I feel overwhelmed. Mostly because I feel like being in school takes so much time and effort, so I can't put all the time and energy I want into my business. Something else I've been struggling with is finding the right people who appreciate quality pictures. While I've been in school studying photography, I feel like my worth as a photographer has gone up but some people don't see that... they only want a deal and that HURTS. Something I've learned and I'm still trying to learn is to appreciate those who do value and appreciate my pictures and my prices. I'm learning there will be some people who will never understand. It is scary to raise my prices, but it is also important. With every photo shoot, I am learning something new and improving my skills. It is hard to lose customers over this, but also vital to not downplay the quality of pictures I am giving to my clients. I am looking forward to learning how to better set apart time as an entrepreneur during the day, and sell myself and reach those people who will appreciate the quality of pictures I am giving them. Also, I'm excited to learn how to better my business and strengthen my business knowledge.

Picture by: Adrianamphotographs

Summer Nights in Utah

My mom helped my sister Allison move to Denver last week and stayed with us until Monday. As she was packing Sunday night around 10pm to come back to Utah I said, "What if I just came with you and flew back to Denver in a week and a half??" for the next hour and a half we looked up plane tickets and I decided to come with the kids! We left around 10am on Monday morning and arrived in Morgan at 7pm. Not too bad with 4 kids ages 7, 5, 3, and 19 months!! Since the trip for the kids and I was last minute, we decided to try and surprise my dad and two other sisters at home. 20 minutes into our drive my mom gets a text from my dad saying, "Ummm I think Mollie is hitching a ride on your back bumper..." he was totally stalking my mom using the Life360 app and caught us red handed. We still surprised my two other sisters and that was still fun ;) 

Yesterday was so hot and I was trying to keep the big girls outside to play... but they kept coming in complaining of no shade haha. So, I told them that if they ate their lunch good we could turn on the sprinklers! For me, this is my childhood. Especially putting the hose under the trampoline! The kids played outside running through the sprinklers and playing with friends for 6 hours. Summer is definitely in the air and I love it. Having Cam and Berks (my 7 and 5 year old sisters) as constant play companions and baaasically older sisters has been so great for Emma.

Cam and Berks started cheer camp this week! That is new for our family... no one has ever done cheer before! They were practicing their new moves and trying to strengthen their arms!

Looking up how to correctly do a handstand on youtube haha

"strengthening" her arms

His lips. I die.

"NO MORE PICTURES MAMA!!!"

Emma has her foot on the sprinkler and lures William. She lifts her foot off so it sprays him in the face. He LOVED it.