← The Portrait System Podcast
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- [00:01]
A
Hey there, it's Nikki Klosser and I want to let you know about an awesome free giveaway for people on our email list. If you haven't already, click the link in our podcast description or go to theportraitsystem.com signup to get on the list. If you sign up, you'll get a free posing 101 PDF to jumpstart things. It's an epic PDF, so you'll definitely want to get this. Also, just by being in our email community, you'll get deals, sales, and information about any of our upcoming events and activities. So head over to theportraitsystem.com signup and sign up. Today you're listening to the Portrait System podcast.
- [00:35]
B
Why aren't you willing to be magnificent? Why aren't you willing to be successful? Why aren't you willing to be abundant? Why aren't you willing to be amazing? Enough is not enough. Enough for who?
- [00:49]
A
Welcome to the Portrait System Podcast. I'm your host, Nikki Klosser, and this show is here to help you succeed in the world of photography and business. To help you learn to become financially free, doing what you love and so much more. With over 1 million download, countless photographers have taken what they've learned from both our episodes and from theportraitsystem.com and they have grown their businesses, quit their day jobs, and are designing a life of their dreams. We keep it real and share stories about the ups and downs that come with running a photography business. You'll hear real life stories of how other photographers run their business and you'll learn actionable steps that you can take to reach your own goals. Thank you so much for being here. And let's get started. Hi, everyone, it's Nikki Klosser here. And this week on the Portrait System podcast, we are revisiting one of our past episodes with the Amazing Sue Brice. In this episode, sue breaks down how you can create clarity in what you want and in your business and how to bring about financial success. This is a powerful episode, which is why we are bringing it back. All right, let's get started with Sue Bryce. Hi, sue, how are you?
- [01:53]
B
I'm very good. How are you?
- [01:55]
A
I'm good. I'm so excited to chat with you. I feel like we haven't had one of our, like, soul conversations lately, so I've been really looking forward to this.
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B
Excellent.
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A
All right, so what are we going to talk about today?
- [02:05]
B
Let's talk about leveling up. Let's talk about creating personal goals and what that means and the glass ceiling that you hit constantly. Because I think the first, mostly the years that I have spent in super ice education, I spend a lot of time moving people through that very first fear jump, that big leap, you know, when they want to become a photographer and become self employed. And I would say 96%, 95% of our students have never been in business before. So they've got an extra learning curve. They're mastering their craft and they're also mastering what their idea of self employment looks like, which means money management and self value and all the things that go into it. And I feel like that journey is so prolific, but what happens when you get there and then you're making money and you can sell your work and you have mastered your craft? I feel like a lot of people are like, well, that was the journey, that was the hard work. And now you're finally in a place where you have a career and even a little business and what do you do next? I mean, I watched you do that.
- [03:10]
A
Yeah, I mean, do you think it's like. I guess it could be a couple things. People getting complacent with their work, complacent with their income, just complacent with everything, really? Do you think that's the case or do you think people just. Well, I wonder if people also just don't know how like, okay, I'm here and now what?
- [03:26]
B
Yeah, I have this firm belief, I'm a very strong personal goals kind of person. Like, I guess every year you have your New Year's resolutions, right? You're just like, what am I going to create for myself this year or for my business? And you can do that very loosely or you can really focus on that aspect with intention. This is something that I have done my whole life, especially in the last 20 years. I am a very active goal setter and I am someone that like has obsessive focus around what they want. So I really work out what it is that I want. I put it on a piece of paper, I focus on it every day and I speak it into existence. So what I found myself, I would become the person that I was wishing for or dreaming. I would become the business person. I would reach success goals with money, with income, in my studio, with staff. But then I would lose my way and inevitably I would become deeply dissatisfied with my craft, with my business, with my. Like, you don't feel soul connected. And I would realize that there's something more for me, there's something more that I want to grow into. So in order to create anything, you just gotta have some certainty and conviction around what it is that you want. But how many people ask or just ask for what they really want and then go after it? You know, we often sit back thinking that this is going to happen to us. And so it's no different when you hit the first glass ceiling, you're going to realize that moment where you have become the next level. And now you have to create some big, hairy, scary goals if you want to step up to the next one.
- [05:13]
A
I love that, you know. You know, I was packing up our Seattle house, and I came across one of my, like, goal sheets, and I had just written it out on the back of one of my cards that had a logo on it. And it said I wanted eight glamour photography shoots, my average sale to be $1,800. I don't even know when I wrote it, but I met that goal so long ago, and I stayed there for a little while. And then I remember feeling like, okay, so now you know what I mean?
- [05:40]
B
So I stayed at an $1,850 average for nearly six years. And I don't know why, because when I hit that average, I wasn't hitting that average. I was maybe barely hitting 400. So when I first hit that, consistent, this is what people buy. It's because my price list was set up that way, so it really only gave you that option to buy that perfect package. And it took me a long time to get comfortable constantly receiving $1,850. But within six years, I had learned how to save with that income. I'd learned how to pay staff, but I wasn't gaining anything personally. I was getting paid. I was going to work. I felt like I was making everybody else's life better, but I didn't know that I was making mine better. And I had stopped creating that real personal goal where I'm like, I want to create this for myself. And when you understand that you have the power to focus on something and create whatever you want, really shifts what you ask for and how you ask for it. And you've really got to take some time. And I know that you spend all this energy, maybe even years, worrying what people think of you, worrying about how you look to the outside world, worrying about how your brand looks. But honestly, there is only one energy you need to focus on, and that's how you feel doing it, because you're the one that has to actually do it. Like, you can fantasize your entire future, but to wake up in the morning and choose to spend your day doing something with great intention that is really rewarding. And what truly lights you up as a human being, just walking towards it is so fulfilling. And where there's clarity, there's that revenue, you know? Cause you can really say, this is where I wanna go. I know where I wanna go. And it's really, really intentional. You have to believe that you're worthy of asking for more. And I feel like what I did was people would say to me, oh, you're only $1,850. And I was like, wow, two years ago, people would tell me I was too expensive at 400. Then I started to value myself and my craft. Next minute, they're paying me. And then when I moved, I realized one thing. I was working too hard, and I wasn't getting enough of the pie or keeping enough of the pie for myself. So I cut down my shoots and I doubled my average. That's when I started to work less for more profit. It stopped being about everybody else. And it truly was what I wanted, how I wanted to shoot, how I wanted to run my business. And you can get away from what you want so fast that you don't even realize that you've been knocked off the path. But I always say to people, sometimes you're on the right freeway, you're just in the wrong lane, and you might get a little bit blocked, but you just got to get across, across to that lane that you want to be in and then get in there and you're fine. So you're not on the wrong freeway. You're just in the wrong lane. That's all. And being able to really ask yourself as a human, what do I want? What do I want to build? What sort of future do I want? What business? How do I want to exist in my business, really explore that space? Because what you truly want is often very different than the path you're on.
- [09:04]
A
Yeah. And I wonder, too, if making these goals, like writing it down, making it tangible so you can see it. Because when I look at that goal that I wrote, I mean, I had to have written it in, like, 2013. I'm guessing it was 2013. And at that time, that goal of the eight shoots a month at an $1,800 average sale, was, like, so exciting to me, and I couldn't wait to get there, and I loved it so much. But now when I look at that goal, and I'm not going to say it wasn't a ton of hard work and that it was super easy of course, like I busted for that and I made it happen. But now when I look at that goal, I'm like, eh, that doesn't excite me. Like, what is next? You know what I mean? It's like, yeah, if I were to put all of my goals, and you know me, I'm so not organized, but if I had been organized enough to have like a journal or something that had all of my goals written out like every month or whatever, to go back through them all, oh, that would have been so cool. But yeah, it feels like you have to really have tangible.
- [09:58]
B
Yeah, well, I break it down like this. Like there's something I want for my personal goal that is my physical self. And we live in 2020. Like you can pretty much like, you know, you can't say, you can't change your body. You can do whatever you want with your body and your health. So if it's really about fitness, health and wellness that you really need to focus on, then that tells me your balance is out and you really need to focus, you know, like I put my physical health, my physical body, like I put it on the back burner in order to build my business. Like, I was not focused on looking after myself. It was only when I started to show up in my brand, as the face of my brand that I started to see myself on camera. And what I was seeing was not somebody that was like not good enough to be on camera. What I saw was somebody that had completely neglected their physical selves in order to work 12 to 15 hours a day to build a business. And I put myself last. As most, and a lot of women do, especially women with kids, you put yourself last and then before you realize it, I just wasn't feeding that part of myself. It didn't have anything to do with my business or my brand. When I started to see myself on stage and on camera, I hated the way I looked and I gave myself a really hard time over it. But I realized I was not looking after my body. I was not balancing fitness walking. I wasn't even balancing good nutrition. So I created a personal physical goal to look after myself, to train, to get a trainer, eventually to be able to do a yoga, maybe fall in love with some type of movement that was going to bring me back to strength. So that goal to me is something completely aside from my business that really enriches my life. Then I make goals for money because I want to change my income, change the way I see money, the way I attract money, the way I manage money, keep Money, share money. I want to understand money even better than I do now and really free any blocks around it and see what I can really build, you know, with money and save. Then I create a business goal because I want my business to have a goal. And that goal may involve other people like you running my podcast and think I want to constantly be growing my business in a way that it makes my life better and my students lives richer. And then I want a goal for my personal relationship. Like if it's. I want more time spent, more connection, more presence. I want to bring more love to my friendships, to my relationships. Like, I create a goal in every realm and area of my life because it is so important for me to make sure that every area is getting some attention and some balance. And that's actually a really difficult thing to do. But I notice when I drop the ball around my physical body, like I stop working out or I don't eat right, I'll go downhill fast physically. And I just say, hey, bring yourself back. We're just working on this. And they're just constantly challenging myself to grow in every area of my life. And I stagnate really quickly.
- [13:16]
A
So what do you do when you stagnate? I guess I think most people probably stagnate and get to a place where they're not moving forward or they're saying one day or someday, or that can never be for me, or, you know, it's just a pipe dream.
- [13:30]
B
One word, my friend, they don't even say it. People don't even say it's not for me. I don't know, they make excuses and they avoid with avoidance behaviour. So it's really easy and a perfect description. I just said it out loud. My avoidance in the past, whenever I was scared of anything, whenever I was faced with a big challenge, or whenever I knew I was going to be on stage, or whenever I knew I was like on that upward trajectory and I was filled with fear and loathing. Whenever I would feel that, I realized that my avoidance was to overeat and do all sorts of stuff that, you know, ties into the simple fact that I literally was not looking after my body. So it's avoidance for me. And it's not a matter of, can I do this? It's a matter of I'm literally stuck in a cycle of overeating and I don't know why I'm stagnating. So when I'm stagnant, I realized I'm not facing something huge. And it's always something on my goal list because it's something I want. And so I think to myself, why would you say you want something but then not be brave enough to step up to receive it? Because that's the secret to creating anything is you create a clear vision of what it is that you want. And then you simply follow that vision every single day. You just light it up, you bring it into your frontal lobe, you focus on it, you feel good around it, and you just attract energy around it. And that is the magic of making anything happen or come to fruition.
- [15:11]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. And I'm asking this for people who may be out there listening, thinking, like, I just don't even know what to do. I think people get stuck in this, like, rut of just complacency.
- [15:25]
B
Yeah.
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A
You know, so, like, what do they do? I guess.
- [15:28]
B
No, I actually believe that it's more of a. So I don't believe it's a complacency. I believe that we get so stuck in what we don't like about ourselves. Whether that's eating, drinking, shopping, worrying, social media, it's all avoidance. All I have to do is ask myself, truly, if I remove myself up above this drama, what am I truly not facing right now? What am I too afraid to face because I'm avoiding something? And it's always something big, like putting yourself out there. And you've just got to do the self work on what you are physically giving and how you bring value to this world. If you can see yourself as valuable, then it changes the way you ask for things, the way you create anything, and the way you move forward. So I would spend more time focused on what I can give to others than on how they are judging me or how I think people are seeing me from the outside looking in. Because all of your fear when you first start is just a fear of rejection. And because you're not doing anything, you're not getting rejected. But we get so scared of being rejected that we just don't try. And the avoidance pattern is so real. So what you really have to do is identify what is your avoidance. Like, I always knew if I was eating and I shouldn't be, I was avoiding doing something and it involved confronting someone. Like, I was so afraid of having confrontational conversation that I would avoid, avoid, avoid, and avoid. And then I just say to myself, you're avoiding this, but if you face it right now, you're going to move through it. So the first thing I had to do was really look at my avoidance behaviors and say, these are stopping me from moving forward. And I buy time here because I'm scared or I'm unsure or I'm more focused on what I don't have right now than what I do have. And just shifting that focus changes everything.
- [17:32]
A
It seems like that sort of negative space is. It's almost like a comfortable place. Like I remember there's. In one of the self value talks on your. On the sub education website, you had said that in order to make the changes and to attain pretty much the goals that you want, especially making big changes, you have to go through some sort of pain and you choose your pain. I mean, it almost seems like that's really what it comes down to. It's almost just like easier to stay where you're at than to move forward because you don't have to deal with that extra pain. But then it is painful to stay there.
- [18:07]
B
So it's, it is, it's worse. It's worse to stay there. So Wallace Wattles in the Science of Getting Rich said, if you make a study of poverty, then you create more poverty. And a lot of people get stuck on that one phrase. Like we are supposed to, you know, make sure that we look after people in poverty. Yes. It's not ignore poverty, it's just don't make a study of it. It said, have a look at everybody in the world as becoming. And I was like, oh, becoming rich, becoming educated, becoming well, becoming healthy. So every time I would level up or create goals to take me up to the next level, I would say I am becoming. And in my head I'm like, I'm becoming this person here. I am becoming someone who communicates better. I am becoming someone that receives money easily. I am becoming someone who, you know, and I just keep saying I'm becoming. And instead of criticizing other people who are on their journey who do something wrong, I would say they are becoming like they are becoming. And right now they are in that place, but they are becoming more. They're asking to be more. And I'm watching them Also Know this. When you ask for any form of transformation in your life, whatever it is, whether it's money transformation, you have to do the work. Like every day you're going to be confronted with a situation where you get to practice confronting someone or practice confronting money blocks, or you're going to be challenged because you've asked to grow in this area. So it seems reasonable to me that the universe would then give you some big lessons because you wanted to grow. So it's like, here you go, then grow and Then the first thing you do is get hit with the one thing you wanted to work on. That was the whole point. Embrace that. Like, lean into it. And if anybody says, well, this looks uncomfortable, you say, yes, because I asked for growth. Also, when you ask for anything from the universe, if you ask for the lesson that will be provided in the gaining of whatever it is that you're creating, it will come to you faster.
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A
Yes, yes. And putting it out there. But when you say just asking for it, I mean, literally, you just say it out loud. Do you write it down? You know, I do.
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B
Like, yeah, I do. I write it down. I say it out loud. I really visualize it. I imagine myself having it. I can see the next steps. Even if they're totally terrifying and I don't know how I'm going to do them, I can physically see that I would have the opportunity to walk those steps. So it's congruent to what I want. It's congruent to the next step I'm taking. And all I have to do is be big and ballsy and brave enough to take the step towards it, keep asking the universe for it, keep saying I'm worthy of receiving it, keep coming up and receiving it, and keep stepping up to every single opportunity I'm given, no matter how terrified I am, and repeat that every single day. The fear never goes away. It just takes a backseat and you just start taking action. And then before you know it, you're someone who just takes action. The single thing that I've watched students change their entire lives in our program is just the days they wake up and decide to take action. Like, they just do it. They do it. I've heard you say this. I've heard Jersen say this. I just came to a moment where I was like, I don't think I can do this, but I'm going to just do what she told me to do. And it worked. But you see, what I did was not magic. I just went and did what you did, and it worked. I told you it worked. You went and did it. It worked. It totally worked. Right? You just took action. So all I ever want to do is get people to that place where they are stepping forward. And in order to do that, there must be self value and there must be clear conviction and certainty around the goals that you want to create. And then with those two energies, you just create desire and the ability to follow that joy every single day doing it. And you just keep getting and becoming more.
- [22:24]
A
Yeah, absolutely. And it's like I think sometimes people get really overwhelmed by everything, but all of the things that I have to do. But it's not like you've said this before, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And taking action doesn't necessarily mean starting your business in one day. It's one step at a time. Like, that's why we have the 12 week startup program. Because it's one week you're focusing on one thing, the next week you're focusing on something else. So you don't have to bite off everything in one big giant bite.
- [22:55]
B
No. And honestly, people do the 12 week startup 4, 5, 6 times and then they also go back to the 12 week startup and they might skip camera basics and the intro, but they'll pick up classes from 3 till 12.
- [23:08]
A
Yeah.
- [23:09]
B
Because they just keep going through it and they just every year level up. Every year level up and everybody's at a different speed, which I find the hardest. Some people just come in and just start selling and shooting. Some people take three years to sell their first package. It's up to you.
- [23:27]
A
Yeah, it's so true. It's so true. And it's funny because now that I do the coaching for the 12 week startup, I still learn something. Even though I'm like the coach of it now. It's like I'm still going through it and people will say that I've completed it before and I'm doing it again because now I'm ready to get my sales even higher or build my portfolio even more beautiful or whatever, whatever their level up means to them. For me, my level up for me was like doing this podcast and just coaching and all of this because I've kind of reached the point in my photography business, like I have the two studios and everything. I'm like, okay, what's my next level up? So I think it's just constantly evaluating, like you said, what is it that right now in this moment, like, I'm ready to do and then just start doing it?
- [24:14]
B
Yeah. Like, how do you bring value to yourself and how do you bring value to your world? Like right from the day one that we started working together, you and I, you always knew that you were a star supporter. Like when you. Right from the beginning we talked about your profile right from the beginning, that it was perfectly positioned to coach under mine, but you still had to go through every. I mean, I watched you build a business, the first one, so I got to watch you do that and then I got to watch you build that studio up and I watched you go from, can I really leave this job? Like, you were like, really? I don't want to go to my job anymore. And I'm like, leave. And you're like, but how?
- [25:02]
A
I remember saying, but how? And you, like, looked at me and you're like, it's not about the how.
- [25:06]
B
It'S about what you want, where you're going next. Yeah, yep, yep, yep. What do you want?
- [25:12]
A
Yeah, yep, totally. And just to start walking towards it. And for people listening who don't know what star supporter or profile, there's something that sue had me do. It's called the wealth dynamics test.
- [25:22]
B
Yeah. So it is 99American dollars. So it's a pricey test, but it really positions the path to wealth. And I've done everybody in my vicinity. But I pretty much, once I understood all the profiles, I can pretty much profile people by talking to them. A lot of creators and a lot of stars. It just means that it was your true path and you could really see your true path coming forward. So here's a level up that I think is the most interesting. Maybe when you come into Sue Bryce education, you're following my path. And my path is very clear, very strong. And you can read every number, every sales number from my studio. You can see my journey. And I did all of that pre education. I built a business for 20 years, and it's an incredible business model. But then I started to teach that business model. And I guess a lot of people get stuck on the idea that my path, like my choice of style, my choice of genres, my choice of demographics might be a little bit different from yours. And so people come into the journey following my journey, but then somewhere in there, they find their own path. And it's always something a little bit different than mine because it's not me. And then I see people really grow. So at first you're kind of borrowing the idea, you're borrowing the business model, you even borrow the style at first to some degree. But then you start to say, well, I like this genre and I like this client and I like this style and I like shooting outside and I like these backdrops. And your work starts to look different than mine. Your studio starts to develop in a different path to mine. And now I have hundreds of ecosystems just all around the world, just little portrait studios all following their own purpose. But at first it feels very, like, regimented and like a system. And it is a system. It's a real basic sales system around a really cool product. But you can make that product whatever you Want.
- [27:31]
A
There's nothing wrong with following a system that works. Like, why recreate the wheel? Like, there's no reason to do that.
- [27:40]
B
Well, there's a lot of purists that will listen to you and say, yeah, and there's. Because I want my work to look different. But I can honestly say I look around at all of the demographics, all of the genres, and all of the photographers, and I just don't see people out there on their own creating something massively different. I was more interested in connecting with my client, creating beautiful imagery, and getting paid, like, those three things. I want to have an incredible experience as a photographer. I want to give an incredible experience as a photographer. I want to get paid well for giving that experience and that service and enjoy the entire process of it. So it was very important to me that I was doing it the way I wanted to do it. And I really want you guys to know you can create whatever you want. It might not feel like that at first, but once you do start to look at it and really ask yourself, how do I want to spend my day shooting? What do I really want to offer? How do I bring that value to the world? And when you really explore it, you will find your way through that, and it will work for you if you let it.
- [28:56]
A
Yeah, absolutely. And it. I guess when I say that you don't need to recreate the wheel, I'm just saying, like, with a business model, for example, you know, a lot of people don't know what to do for a business model. So if you've got something that's. That so many people have utilized to make it work, like, heck, yes. Of course, I, you know, I do things differently than you do with how I speak to my clients and interaction and this sort of thing. But, like, the meat and potatoes of it that I think is. It's so nice to walk into, you know, like, when I'm starting a business, I feel like a freaking tornado and everything is spinning out of control. But, man, the way that it can just bring everything together when you've got a business model that you can follow and then tweak it kind of to make it your own. For me, I think that has been absolutely crucial to my success. It truly has.
- [29:44]
B
I'll give you some of my next step level ups that I've done in the last 10 years. Specifically, one of the first level ups I definitely did was I noticed my physical body was out of balance, and I started to cut myself off from overworking to allow some body time. That was a Big one for me. That's a big one for a lot of people out there that have to carve out some time for themselves. But if you don't, you know, you don't show up for yourself as well. You can't just give it all to the business. You've got to give some to yourself as well. Another level up I did was started to speak publicly because it meant that I could really put myself out there on video, online, in person. It meant that I could stand up at a conference and be a speaker, that I could really teach, represent my brand. But also I was going to networking, big marketing and charity events, and I could get up on stage and talk about my business in a way that I could get 30 bookings from that audience at an $1,850 average. And that's what got me to the next level. I leveled up every year by entering the awards every year for 10 years, and I've won 38 international awards. I got noticed and published all around the world. New Zealand, Australia, America. And because of that, it leveled up my photography game. It leveled up my international game. I got well known really quickly. I leveled up with my money. When I realized in the first two years, I had gotten to the end of my first two years, and I remembered saying, like, I had saved $78,000 or $77,000 in my business account. And I remembered thinking, I'm rich. I have made it. Like, of course, my rent was two grand a month, and I had six staff, so that money wasn't gonna last long after taxes were paid. But in my head, I was like, I've made it. I'm gonna be wealthy. And then I got my tax bill, and it was $78,000.
- [31:40]
A
And I. I remember that I looked.
- [31:42]
B
At my bank, and I was like, but that's everything. And I thought I had been saving, but I was just getting money for the first time. So I knew nothing about money.
- [31:52]
A
Oh, wait, no. Maybe I'm thinking of something else. Was that a different tax time?
- [31:57]
B
Oh, I've had so many situations like that where I was learning about money. So I leveled up going, I have to create separate bank account and learn how to save. And then I had to learn how to save the right amount of tax and learn how to save the right amount of savings simultaneously. So I leveled up there. Then I leveled up with video. So every time technology was changing, when the Mark 5D came out, 5D, Mark 2, it shot HD video. I thought, that's the future. I got that video. I Started to record myself, I started to film myself. I started to record my clients video. Now I have, like, Caitlin creating incredible video. So I level up with technology. I level up with business. I level up with my staff, my numbers. I level up with my physical self. I level up with money, personal goals, my relationship goals. I want to make sure I'm asking for every one of those areas and making sure those areas aren't out of balance so I can be a whole, complete human being and also be a successful, happy one. Otherwise, I just become really overwhelmed. So I leveled up in so many different ways, and I'm about to level up again because I'm now creating, you know, a different structure around how I work. This pandemic has torn me apart and put me back together again in the best kind of way. I've had some dark, dark weeks, as we all have, but it has changed me significantly. Like, I'm really asking the question now, how do you want to step forward? Like, is this still what you want, how you want to work, who you want to work with, where you want to work? Is this filling your boots? Are you bringing value to the world? Do you feel valuable in yourself? And, like, what does that look like? I've been just asking those questions over and over again.
- [33:51]
A
What'd you come up with?
- [33:52]
B
I have a lot of anxiety. No pressure. Yeah, I have a lot of anxiety. I realized I carry so much anxiety around empathy. I have so much anxiety around what people are going through right now that it just really unnerves me. And I have to first separate what's mine and what's not mine. And then I have to really just sort of. I have to just keep moving forward. Like, I feel like I'm in a position. Everybody's in a different position. I understand. And I'm in a position where I can just keep stepping forward if I just stay focused on my path. And, yeah, I just realized that there's a lot of pain in the world right now, and it feels really unsettled and disconnected. And at the same time, it feels like a lot of people are becoming. So, yeah, it does feel like that.
- [34:45]
A
Yeah, I can truly feel both, for sure. But I want people to know. Like, I mean, I know a lot of people listening already know your story and just, you know, how you grew into the person that you are today and with your business and everything. But for people who don't know your story, like, it wasn't like any of this happened overnight. I mean, you took action all the time, constantly, in order to get where you are today in order to level up, in order to do all of these things. Like, everyone is starting somewhere, and everyone is starting at a different spot. But you can always, always, always move forward. Always.
- [35:20]
B
So I always say I'm really big on visualizations. I want everyone to close your eyes just for a second. Imagine walking into a room, and it could be a room of your peers. It could be a room full of photographers. It could be a portrait masters conference. It could be a work. It could be a workshop you're hosting in your mind. It could be a workshop you're attending. It could be an event, an awards. Let's say you're in there and you're standing there. Where are you standing right now? Get a visual of that. And I want you to just walk in the room, stand, take a big breath in, look around the room, and notice that everybody in this space is looking at you with great love and respect. Great love and respect. What are you? Where are you? What room did you walk into?
- [36:08]
A
I know.
- [36:08]
B
And who are the people looking back at you with great love and respect? Is it your family? Is it your children? Is it your best friends standing there cheering for you? Is it your work colleagues standing around you, going, nicky, Nicky, you're here. Nicky, you've arrived. Feel what it feels like to have everybody in the room looking at you with great love and respect. Like you have earned the love and respect in this room because of what you have done. You've done something. You've taken action. You're working on yourself, your business. And all of these people are here to celebrate you in this moment. And if you can describe that room to me, that feeling in that moment, then it's within reach. It's yours. It's just a matter of being able to see it. When you see yourself as more, you attract more. Now I want you to visualize yourself standing in that room. Feel it. Feel what it feels like to have all those people looking at you and you've done it. And what have you done? Because you can have that if you treat yourself the way you feel right now in that moment, with the love and respect that you are seeing beamed back at you from that room full of people that you love and admire. And for a lot of people, I'm gonna be in that visualization. I'm gonna be in that room smiling at you because I've seen you achieve something. So if I come up in your visualization, awesome. But just feel it. Like, if you can elevate yourself on the inside, imagine what happens on the outside. Because all people see is how you treat yourself. And when you show up for yourself with courage and self love and self value, you care about how you look. You've taken some time and energy to learn who's going to be in this room, who's going to be talking to you, looking at you, you know, your audience, you're confident in this room and you are here to give value. Can you imagine what it feels like to walk around that room? That's what I experience when I am with my students. It has been so incredible to be able to walk into a space and be loved and respected for sure. But if you can visualize it now, you can have it for yourself. Because that's how I started to treat myself. I started to treat myself like I was loved and respected by myself. And I didn't get myself into situations where or conversations or situations where I would give myself a hard time afterwards. I would just come in with all this love for myself. And then it started to show up in every area of my life.
- [38:47]
A
Hey, just a quick break to tell you that since you're here listening, you have access to a really great offer for our listeners only. We have a special promo code you can use to get 50% off the cost of membership. Just go to theportraitsystem.com or click the link in the description and use the promo code PODCAST50 to get 50% off of a membership. We rarely discount membership, so this is a big deal. As I hope you already know, the membership is how I and so many guests on this podcast reached our success. And it gives you access to countless amazing videos, an awesome community and all the tools you need to build a massively successful business. So use the code podcast50Now to join the community and to start building the business of your dreams. I'll see you there. It truly is remarkable. Once you can, and I know we've talked about this before and you talk a lot about this on the SBE website is just. It is, it's that, it's that self love piece. It's that self value piece. And I can just, I can almost hear people out there listening who are thinking, yeah, but I'm broke. Yeah, but you know, so stop selling in a super tiny time. Yeah, but you know what I mean. I guess there are just. We hear it a lot. Like in our members group, it's like we. Well okay, I should say that we see people making shifts all the time that when they share their huge first sale or their sales average is now $2,000 or, oh, my God, you guys, I just sold this wall portrait and it pushed me over to my first $4,000 sale or whatever it is. We see so many positive shifts, but there is still that other side. Whereas people are like, yeah, but I don't have a studio. Yeah, but I mean, I just. What? It's like the. Yeah. Butts in the. In the excuses and that sort of thing. And I'm not saying that I didn't used to be there. I'm not saying that I didn't used to be there. Like, this is something I had to overcome too. Like, I know you did too. We all did.
- [40:35]
B
Yep.
- [40:35]
A
But like, for those. Speak to those people, the. Yeah. Butters out there listening to this podcast right now saying, yeah, but Sue. Yeah, but sue, how do they move past this?
- [40:45]
B
Oh, I could give you the top five earbuds in under a minute. Yeah, but nobody will pay for that in my area. Yeah, but women don't want this service.
- [40:54]
A
Yeah.
- [40:54]
B
Yeah, but who would want 20 photographs of themselves? Yeah, but nobody's going to spend over $400 in my lounge room. Yeah, but. And yeah, I've heard every year, but I ear butted for years and I still got here. You year butted. In fact, I laughed the other day because Nikki is a Taurus, so she's a bull. And I always joke that Nikki doesn't move fast when she needs to decide something. She needs to take her time. But I'm a Gemini, so I move twice as fast as most people. So if I told Nikki anything confrontational to change, I would always wait for your solid, stubborn reaction, which was a complete rejection of any form of. I'm going to accept this information. Then you would leave, and then you would come in the next day and you'd go, okay, I've got it. And I was like, sometimes it's hard to move a bull out of a paddock, but if you just leave the gate open overnight and there's lots of flowers in the other paddock, inevitably they'll just walk in there themselves. And you used to take a long time to move, but when you moved, you moved. And I was more of a, like, sprinter. Like, I would just run headfirst into a wall. I would just run headfirst into the next wall. I would run headfirst into the ocean. I would just run headfirst into everything. And I was kind of just bouncing off stuff because I just had to try everything and see what worked. We all have a complete different way of moving through the big stuff. But if you are trying to build anything and you refuse to look at money and self value, if you refuse to look at how you think, treat, receive, save, keep, hold, even talk about money, you're doing yourself a great disservice. If you do not acknowledge that you need to bring your self value up, you're doing yourself a great disservice and you're going to attract people that treat you poorly. It's that simple. You know, you're just going to keep getting, you're going to keep getting what you believe you're worth. So change your worth. Really change it. And I don't care if you have to walk around the house just saying, I am valuable, I'm a valuable human being, I bring value. I am valuable and I am becoming more valuable every day. I am valuable and I am becoming more valuable every day. I am willing to see my magnificence. So many times I see girls with I am enough written on their phone and I'm like, what is enough? Like, why are you enough? Why aren't you willing to be magnificent? Why aren't you willing to be successful? Why aren't you willing to be abundant? Why aren't you willing to be amazing? Enough is not enough. Enough for who? Like, enough is not a level I attained to be. I put I am willing to see my magnificence on my phone probably 10 years ago and it's never come off. I say enough is not enough. You must be more, be more. Be the person you want to be. Buy the house you want to buy, have the babies you want to have, live with the person you want to live with. Wear the clothes you want to like, love your body. There is so much grace here and loving yourself and success and I just, oh, I can't stop. Can't stop.
- [44:21]
A
One of the things you just said that it just is so powerful is when you don't value yourself and love yourself. And not in like the cliche, oh, I love myself but truly, deeply, like understand it and live it and you know that it resonates with you. You attract people who treat you poorly. And I'm not just talking about a partner, like, and I know you're not either. It's the clients. It's, you know, you just are attracting what you put out is what you attract. It's so amazing how it works.
- [44:53]
B
It's just a mirror. It's a mirror and the mirror is showing you how you value yourself and the more value you bring back. So this was a really difficult thing for me. Because I could hear those words. And if I go back to New Zealand and say 2005, I'm just hitting that 1800 flow, like, constantly. And then we start getting up to $20,000 weeks. Like, we're really pushing too hard. I'm sprinting. I'm running into walls. I'm absolutely hurting, but it's working. And I'm just throwing myself in there, you know, Everything that I was attracting in that moment was like a mirror of what I was saying. So when I was in fear, I would attract a client that showed me more fear. When I was being possessive, I would attract a client that didn't want to pay money, or they would criticize me or. And I would go through the wave of knowing that I was creating it. And. But then somebody was like, if you bring more value, I could not get over this one hump that something I had made with my hands was worth eighteen hundred and fifty dollars. Like, I made it with my hands. Now I'm a crafter. My mom's a crafter. We grew up crafting, drawing, painting, origami. You name it, we did it. Like, we build things with our hands. We sculpt. My whole family do. The idea that I could take something I've made, like a drawing or a sculpture, and sell it for $2,000, I could not see the value. I could not accept that I was worth that. I could not see that the time I gave that client that three hours of consultation, hair and makeup, photographs, viewing session, four hours that they. I couldn't see myself as valuable like that. My time was valuable. I just couldn't get this recipe that I was valuable. And people kept saying, then I had a client spend $9,000, and then the father in the portrait died. And I loved this family. It profoundly changed me. Suddenly, I thought, this portrait is worth more than a million dollars. Because these people, this is all they have of their father. And he was a pastor, and he was a community pastor, and he was loved by hundreds of people. And then I started to think, okay, well, that's valuable if somebody dies. And then I'm like, really? Because I could not see myself as valuable. I did not see myself as valuable. And then when I started to shift that, everything in my world changed. So if you're struggling with the. But I'm not valuable yet. No, you're not. Because your work's probably not good enough. But if you keep going, really soon it's gonna be good enough. And then you just start asking for what you want, and watch it start to show up. But you've got to really, really say, am I valuable? Do I think I'm valuable? How am I valuable? And you've got to see it. When you see it, you change it.
- [48:11]
A
It's so true. It's so true. You've seen me go through it.
- [48:16]
B
Yeah. I just think of your boys. I think of your little boys. And I think of the fact that I watched you have babies, and now I am watching you bring up some young men that are watching their mum and dad build business and make a successful life. And that you're doing that work in front of your children. Cause your children are learning that.
- [48:40]
A
If you had told me when I was younger that this was gonna be, you know, where I'm at right now in my life, I don't know that I could have ever. I just. I didn't value myself enough back then to actually believe you. If you had told me that.
- [48:54]
B
Right.
- [48:55]
A
And that makes me really sad, you know? And I'm so grateful that I have come this far, as far as I am, you know, I. It just truly is so attainable to get to a place where you can level up. You can reach your goals. You can. And it doesn't have to be. You don't have to start from zero. You don't have to start from nowhere. Like, no, there are business models out there. There are things you can do. There are books you can read, things you can listen to. And I know I talk about you a lot on this podcast. Obviously, I preach to people about the things that you've taught all the time, but you really, truly gave me that recipe. And that's not just us being friends and having developed such a close friendship over all these years, but everything that you've taught me and that you teach around all of this because you experienced it and lived it yourself. All of it is, like, there for people to learn. It's not like you told me something different, you know?
- [49:57]
B
No. But here's the hardest thing in your own time, right? So I was coaching a girl the other day, and she left. And when she left, I was disappointed by. When I coach people personally, I give them big tasks to do. And the goal is you can come back for more coaching when you've achieved this thing. So if you want daily coaching, you would need to achieve what I give you on a daily basis. If you wanted weekly coaching, you would need to do it within the week. And she has kept giving me week after week. She's stepping up to her homework. And this week she dropped her Homework, which means she doesn't get to the next level. And she was kind of annoyed about it. And I was like, well, you haven't done this, so away you go. And when she left, Jersen had been listening to the entire coaching and he turned to me and he said, she doesn't see herself as you see her yet. And I looked at him and I said, and do you know what kills me is I can already see it. So now I have to wait until she's ready. Now, that might never happen, but I've already seen it. So I'm looking at your potential. All of you out there. I look at your potential and all of you have a different potential. Some of you just shine like stars. Some of you will become incredible mentors. Some of you will become the next Dayron Vera and the next, you know, Mark Seligar. Some of you will become podcasters. And like, everybody has a different way they can fit into this whole system. But I see you as more, and I'm just waiting for you to see it. Like, I already know the potential I found on my path that I knew I had. I knew I had a potential to be something. I didn't know what it was. I just kept following that joy and hitting those walls and bouncing off them. But when I look at you, I see all the potential to harness and become the best portrait photographer in your state, city, town, to create an income away from something you hate, to even free your spouse and children. I see your potential. I just now wait for you to decide how much you're gonna step into it. Because you can stop yourself on the path at any time and say, I'm too scared to keep stepping forward. And that's what you get. You will become as successful is the amount of pain you're willing to endure. Choose your pain, step forward and grow bigger. Become more, be more, be more for yourself. Like literally choose to be more for yourself. Choose to wake up and see yourself as somebody who deserves to have a life that they really like and that they really want. You can do that. You can absolutely choose to be that person every single day. Change the way people treat you, speak to you, change the way you attract, tracked money, things, people. Just change it. Work on it intentionally every single day. You are worth doing the work. Also, you think you are mastering a craft and learning this big learning curve around business, but the truth is what you're doing is becoming the next level. You're becoming the next level of human being in your own self. Allow that to happen. You only Become by going through lessons and experiences that make you feel uncomfortable and show you that you have the strength, the willpower and the finesse to make this happen. And you gotta actually do it in the arena getting. What is it? Marred by dust. And in the fight, you gotta be in there fighting. If you're looking in the arena, you have absolutely no right to criticize. Cause you're not in there fighting. So get in there and just start. I actually think it not the arena, because that's Brene Brown's quote about being like. That's where her vulnerability book started. I refer to it more like a horse race. Okay, so they're coming around the back straight. Number seven's in the front by four, leads ahead. And you're listening to this horse race. And I think to myself, the people that don't get their horse, they don't lock in to that first. When the gates open and you're in that gallop race, there are people that their horse is rearing and they can't get in there. You're not even in the race. Don't even try and run. You're not in the race. And you certainly have no right to criticise me. But when you get on that horse and you lock into that gate and that gate opens, you are running with a whole lot of other horses. And trust me, at least you're in there. And I wouldn't care if I was the last horse in that race. I'm still in the race and I'm still getting paid. And that was it. And then I kind of thought to myself, I'm going to be the last horse. But at least I got in the gate and I'm whipping this horse and I'm going for it. And I would keep these stupid analogies in my head, but they always just kept me going because I always wanted to create more.
- [55:16]
A
Yeah. Yeah. You know. Okay. So a lot of people who are listening right now, I'm assuming, since it's called the portrait system, are interested in photography and having this photography business. And to them that is like, okay, that's my race. This is what I need to be doing and how to be doing it. And if you're someone out there, like, wanting to quit that job that you hate or whatever, like, I just. I cannot encourage you enough to, like, level up with what you're doing. And. And if you need to learn more about business, if you need to learn more about self value, if you need to learn how to create beautiful portraits, like, I cannot stress Sue Brice Education Enough. I mean, truly, it is, it's life changing. And I know you don't take credit for changing lives, but my goal, well.
- [56:04]
B
My advice would be this one thing, master one genre. Just master one genre first. Because however you do it. So let's say you want your genre to be glamour or boudoir or whatever it is, personal branding. Just master that one thing. Once you get a client base coming in, you have the ability to master whatever you choose. Stop trying to master everything. Master the one, the one demographic and the one genre that you love the most. If you had built a business, let's say I'm going to use Susan Stripling as an example. She's built an incredible wedding business. She charges a lot of money for weddings and she is at that very high level. She's an incredible educator and her entire business is weddings. She just lost her entire business during the pandemic, flipped over to portraiture straight away. And she can make money as a portrait photographer because she's already in her mind prepared to do that. Sometimes a lot of people are coming to us, you know, they're flipping genres or they're just starting out. Same for both of you. Just master that one genre, that one thing. Start with the one that lights you up the most. As soon as you've mastered that and you're getting paid, you are now free to balance your time, to go to your next level of mastery. Make sure that you are constantly stepping towards some form of mastery for yourself so that you can keep growing. Whether that is, like I said, podcasts, public speaking, a YouTube channel or IGTV. If you want to talk to your audience more, doing awards and accreditation. If you want to level up in that area and get noticed around the world and just leveling up in your personal goals, just your personal self, my self value, my physical body, my relationships, my business self, my money self, and all the areas that you are level up to each one of them. Check in, give yourself a little bit of a report back, like, you're doing really good in this area and you really suck in this area. Let me tell you something I've learned about self value and I just wrote this down because I'm doing a self value talk next week. I've realized with self value that when you really love who you are and you start to nurture that and you start to like live a life where your self value is important and you work on it with intention, you can own all of your dark side and you can do it completely with self love. So I can Say to you, I'm doing really well with saving money, but I've realized that I'm not creating big goals for myself. So I'm going to start to create big goals for myself. You can say I am doing very well in my relationship and my business, but I'm not doing well in my body balance. And I use a lot of that for avoidance. And when I get scared, I fall back into old habits. So I'm really working on, you know, confronting anger or processing anxiety in my body and getting ahead of myself and not being present. When you love who you are, you can bring your dark sides forward and own them and be completely willing. Like, I wish our students didn't. Yeah, but me. And I wish they came back and said, yeah, but I'm scared of rejection and I'm almost crippled by it. Like, I wish they could just see what it is because they tell me it's the audience or the income or too much money or they'll make up a whole lot of reasons. But the truth is, it comes down to them, right? I wish they could really, truly see and own. But what happens is when you see something you don't like about yourself, the scared side or the bad side or a side that goes to avoidance, a side that overeats or over drinks or spends hours, you know, gossiping or worried about what's going on on Facebook, if you are avoiding in that way, you're not going to like who you are. When you like who you are, you can bring your dark side forward and own it and talk about it and completely. Then if somebody says you do this, you can say, yeah, I know I'm working on that. Like, I work on that on a daily basis. Like, I'm not afraid of being criticized by people because I'm fully able to share what I don't do well and I'm okay with it. Like, I'm really bad in these areas. I am brilliant in these areas, but I suck in these areas. And I am working on this. And provided I'm actually doing the work and that, it's not an excuse. You can bring anything that you don't like to the table and just shine a light on it, but just shine a pink light on it. It's just the love light, you know, you've just got to look at it and own it, accept it, say, this is where I am. So the biggest step for self value is acceptance. Acceptance of where you are. Now. You don't start loving yourself after you lose £100. You start loving yourself and then let the weight be, whatever it is. You don't start making money and then love who you are. You start loving who you are, and then you attract clients and money. You don't start to become successful by thinking about being successful. You do that by sharing your skill and your service and your intention and your love on a daily basis. And people are so dynamically attracted to that because that is all life, that you'd be absolutely amazed at what comes back at you. You don't become successful and then valuable, you become valuable first. So you just do that in yourself. Your choice. What I do every day, where I choose to walk, who I choose to hang out with, how I choose to speak, how I choose to receive and give love, it's all there, right in you right now. It's right in front of you. It's closer than you think. It's just a mindset shift.
- [62:16]
A
Mm. I love that. And it is. It absolutely is. Thank you. Thank you for all of that. Thank you for everything you do.
- [62:24]
B
When you see yourself as more, you attract more. Yeah, I've gotta do it too, though. I don't just get a free ride on it because I tell you guys how to do it. Like, I still have to do the work. I still get stuck. I still fall backwards, I still fall down. I still stub my toe.
- [62:42]
A
But the good thing is, though, we're equipped to move on quicker, acknowledge it, release and move forward. And that's what I think it comes down to. Like you said, it doesn't mean that we don't have bad days. And, you know, there are times when I don't achieve my goals as quickly as I want. Like, not everything is like rainbows and unicorns, but damn, it's so nice to be equipped with what to do and how to handle when you fall back again. It's, like, amazing.
- [63:05]
B
So I don't believe in releasing anything. I don't believe you release anything. I've never been able to release anything. I just accept it. I just accept it.
- [63:13]
A
Yeah, that makes sense.
- [63:15]
B
Yeah. I'm also not trying to release something from my past. You can't. But I just accept it. I accept that it was part of my life. Yeah. And it's a really big word for me is acceptance. Because to shift your body, you have to come to your acceptance of your now. To shift your health, you have to come to full acceptance and responsibility. Money blocks to get through them, you have to come to full acceptance of the way you see, think, and treat money. Because you think money has its own power, but it's just energy, and it's only reflecting back to you the way you treat it. So if money was your lover and you don't have any, it's because you're treating your lover poorly. It's that simple. So think about it. Why don't I have money right now? It's simply the way you're treating it and you're pushing it away. As soon as you start treating it with respect, it starts to come, and you keep it because you're treating yourself with respect. So simple and so hard to do. Trust me. Focus on yourself. Do it with pure intention.
- [64:18]
A
Yeah. I mean, it's the best way to live. The absolute best way to live. Well, if you. I'm like, if you want more of sue, there is plenty more where all of this came from on Sue Bryce education. So I just can't. I can't recommend you enough and what you teach enough. So thank you for everything you do, and I'm excited to hear about what you're working on and what's coming up. I know, like you said, through the pandemic, you've just been doing a lot of creating and a lot of just, you know, developing what you teach. And I'm so excited to see what's next from you. I'm really, really happy for you.
- [64:53]
B
Me too. I'm really excited and I feel like, yeah, I don't really believe in, like, going back and saying, I wish this year hadn't happened, or I'm not someone that Sundays, I hate 2020. Like, I never want to experience 2020 again. I just don't think like that. To me, it just seems so pointless. I have grown in areas that I didn't expect to grow, changed in areas I didn't expect to change. I've been greatly disrupted, as we all have. And although it's been stressful, I've enjoyed the disruption. I would like to pull myself apart more. Something that you can get stuck on is this idea of who you are and your brand going out to the world that a lot of people out there, even if they haven't met me or have only met me very briefly, might have an idea of who they think I am, but they don't know who I am. And so, obviously, if I hold to that identity of what you think I am, then I'm never gonna live up to it because I'm never gonna be able to live up to that. So in my head, I'm like, I know it's important that I don't change. Too quickly or too much, because people will freak out, but it's literally impossible to do. So when I look at my last 10 years of teaching, I did my first Creative Live on March 3, 2012. So that's eight and a half years ago. It took me to get to here. Yet you and I, that year, we talked about super ice education every day. We talked about podcasting. We talked about you owning a studio. We talked about you buying a house. Like, we did all of that work. It still literally took us years to get here, and yet it feels like we did it in a blink of an eye.
- [66:39]
A
Yep, it sure does.
- [66:40]
B
It's. Give yourself some grace. Like, give yourself some grace. Stop trying to make yourself a master overnight and allow yourself to be a beginner and open your heart and soul to learning what's out there and what you can create. Like, give yourself some grace. This is a marathon. We're doing this together, and it's super fun. There's people lining the streets cheering for you, and we're gonna do it together, and it's gonna hurt a little bit, and it's gonna be exhilarating, and it's gonna be the best thing you've ever done in your life.
- [67:15]
A
Ooh, I love that.
- [67:17]
B
I love it.
- [67:18]
A
Well, thank you again for coming on.
- [67:20]
B
Yeah, I'm all about the change, man.
- [67:22]
A
Yeah, I know. You and me both.
- [67:24]
B
I'm all about the change, and I'm all about people being bigger and better in themselves. Like, whatever it is you wanna be, like, I just. You have permission. You have my permission. If that's what you're waiting for, you have my permission to become whatever you want to be. Step forward. Like, my mum, we grew up working class, but my mum always used to look at me and she'd say, do you know you can travel the world? And I'd go, really? And she'd go, yep, it's your oyster. You can just go and do whatever you want. And I was like, huh? And she'd go, you can be whatever you want. And I'd be like, okay. And she would just tell me that as a kid. And I believed that. I really believed it. And then I grew up, and I was like, oh, Mum, it's not that easy. And she's like, no, you just have to work for it. I didn't say it would be easy, but you can have whatever you want and something about that. And then the other one that I would hear my mother repeat all the time was, make the best of it. Whatever you've got. Like, make the best of it. So meal time. Make the best of it. Wardrobe. Make the best of it. You know, learn. Get on YouTube. Learn how to speak at networking events like learn how to Breathing exercises to stay calm so you don't get so anxious. Learn, learn, become. Learn. Make the best of it. You've got this. And so she gave me this sort of idea that I could have whatever I want if I was prepared to work for it, see the best of it, and just show up every day and just do it. And I proved, without an education that you can do that. So you can become and you can change, and you have the power to do so. And even though your circumstances might feel like you're boxed in, you're not. It's just a choice. We always have a choice. And sometimes you have to choose yourself over all others, and that's probably the hardest thing to do.
- [69:16]
A
Yep. Words to live by right there. Sue, again. Yeah.
- [69:21]
B
Yeah.
- [69:22]
A
Well, thank you for taking the time to do this with us. I know you're busy, and thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank.
- [69:29]
B
You for doing our podcast, because I just enjoy it so much and I love listening to it, but mostly I love listening to all of the stories and their paths that they've walked. And every time I hear something completely different or every time I hear just a different connection to how they got to that next step and hearing it in their voices. But I said to George, something that really stood out to me. Ten years ago, I was standing in Australia at the AIPP winning Australian Portrait Photographer of the Year. It was probably the greatest honor of my time. I'd already won twice in New Zealand, but the AIPP was bigger than New Zealand, and. And it was where you aspired in the world of photography to be. So here I am, standing there, about to achieve this incredible award from my work, and I just remembered being profoundly moved by, like, the level that I'd gotten to and that I was standing there. Then somebody said to me, are you going to wppi? And I said, oh, it's this pilgrimage. All the Australian photographers would do this pilgrimage to wppi, and lots of them would speak, you know, Gerry Giannis and Nick Giannis and just so many amazing Australian photographers. Dan O'Day, they would come over and speak, but it was also a week for all the Aussies to come and, like, throw themselves at the biggest conference in the world, and then to be picked as a speaker and to be picked and interviewed and to be published in their magazine. Like, to me, I remember thinking, like, I have made it as a photographer. Like you guys out there. You want to get an article, a magazine, you want to get picked for Portrait Masters, you get chosen by Nicky to go on this podcast, there is no longer that honor. Like, what is that honor? And I realized that, like, that the honor is in our world now. And it's something that, like, when we get people to step up into this podcast and step up into Portrait Masters and step onto our platform in any way, we are giving them the honor that I received 10 years ago. And I was like, I now get to do that for other photographers. And I remember how I felt when I got that. And I was just. In my head, I was like, now we are the ones that are giving that gift to people when we feature them and share their work, share their voice and their story. And what an incredible gift to be able to give that feeling out to other people.
- [72:08]
A
Yeah, it really is.
- [72:09]
B
Blows my mind.
- [72:10]
A
It really is.
- [72:11]
B
Yeah. So thank you because I have loved every moment of you doing this podcast and I just. I think it's just absolutely incredible.
- [72:21]
A
Thank you. It's so fun. I absolutely love doing it. It is like one of the highlights of my week, truly. It's just so fun. We have to have you on more anytime. I know I always say that we.
- [72:32]
B
Always get so busy, but I know. Busy, busy.
- [72:35]
A
Yeah. I'll have to do your whole story. I'll have to interview, like, do your whole start to finish story. That'd be fun.
- [72:40]
B
Well, it was so great to be part of it.
- [72:43]
A
All right, honey, thank you so much.
- [72:45]
B
Yep. And good to hear everybody out there. Thanks for tuning in. I think this is a great podcast and thanks for listening to it and hope it gives you lots of inspiration and grounding and that you can really just decide on a path forward. But just know that you are a lot more powerful than you give yourself credit for. When you start to harness that power, all I can say is be careful.
- [73:09]
A
What you wish for, because you just.
- [73:11]
B
Might get it all.
- [73:13]
A
All right, take care, honey. I'll talk to you soon.
- [73:16]
B
Thank you. Bye.
- [73:18]
A
Thank you so much for listening to the Portrait System podcast. Your 5 star reviews really help us to continue what we do. So if you like listening, would you mind giving us a review wherever you listen? I also encourage you to head over to subriceeducation.com where you can find all of the education you need to be a successful photographer. There are over 1000 on demand educational videos on things like posing, lighting, styling, retouching, shooting, marketing, sales, business, and self value. There's also the 90 day startup challenge, plus so many downloads showing hundreds of different poses. We have to do checklists for your business, lighting, PDFs, I mean truly everything to help make you a better photographer and to make you more money. Once again, that's Sue Bryce education dot com.