{"id":29013,"date":"2017-04-20T17:59:24","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T21:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=29013"},"modified":"2017-04-20T17:59:24","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T21:59:24","slug":"six-ways-to-grow-your-skills-and-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/six-ways-to-grow-your-skills-and-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Ways to Grow Your Skills and Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was sitting at a caf\u00e9 in Cape Town, South Africa. Joining me was an aspiring photographer who\u2019d watched several dozen of my videos on YouTube. We\u2019d agreed to meet and chat about photography and enjoy a strong African coffee.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do I take my photography to the next level?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you mean your photographs or your business?\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n

He thought for a few seconds, \u201cBoth, I guess. I just want to get to that next place. What should I do?\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at me as if I had a secret, some special trick that would open new doors to creativity and business opportunities.<\/p>\n

I took a sip of my coffee and told him that unfortunately, there is no such trick. There is no one<\/em> thing. We talked for a couple of hours and I told him the things that have worked for me over the years.<\/p>\n

As we were leaving the caf\u00e9, he said, \u201cYou should write all of this down.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought that was good advice, and so I wrote this article. Here are six things that have worked wonders for me. I think they\u2019ll do the same for you.<\/p>\n

Number 1: Jump Start Your Brain<\/h3>\n

In the early 90\u2019s I read a book that changed the way I think, it\u2019s called Jump Start Your Brain<\/em><\/a> by Doug Hall. I learned that the best way to be creative is to fill your brain with lots of stimuli. It also helps to dabble in several different disciplines, just too keep the creative juices flowing. There are a lot of different things you can do, but I believe one of them is critically important.<\/p>\n

Read<\/h4>\n

Read a lot. Reading is good for your brain and your creativity. I read about 2 hours every day (I love my Kindle). It doesn\u2019t really matter what<\/em> you read, just read. You\u2019ll begin to get new ideas, see the world differently, make new associations, find new insights, and broaden your horizons.<\/p>\n

If you just don\u2019t know where to start, head over to Goodreads. You\u2019ll find lot of suggestions by people who love books. If you want to see what I\u2019m reading, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Learn the Process<\/h4>\n

Enjoy other forms of art; painting, film, theater, sculpture. Visit your local museums and galleries. Learn why<\/em> artists created their works. Try to learn as much as possible about their creative process. This will help you define your own process and create work that speaks from your point of view.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A crowd at The Louvre museum in Paris, France taking pictures of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to seeing work in museums and galleries, there are some great documentaries on Netflix and iTunes that pull back the curtain on creativity. Here are just a few:<\/p>\n