Whew! This has been a hell of a few weeks! Getting ready for the Musea Gathering and watching it unfold was…it was amazing. It was an amazing experience. And I hate the word amazing (even though I can’t stop myself from using it. All. The. Time.). But it was.
It was amazing seeing everyone there. It was amazing seeing everyone’s enthusiasm for their craft and for their businesses. It was amazing seeing Michael Howard’s vision unfold – something I know he has poured his heart and soul into. It is damned hard trying to figure it all out and put something like this together. Just like it is trying to figure out how to run a business. Or move your life forward. Or do anything well, really. So if you don’t follow Musea, be sure to follow it.
I was afraid I didn’t have enough to fill 8 hours. I now realize, I was actually trying to cram three days of material into 8 hours. Nothing feels better than sharing what you’ve learned and what you believe. Wish I could keep going with it. And I will. In these pages. So many things to come this year. Hang on, because we’re just getting started here.
As I ran out on the last day, I stepped onto the street, I looked out into the tree-lined Manhattan skyline, each branch ascending further into the air, and a wave of calm cradled my body.
As long as we see ourselves as an industry, as businesses and not creators, as sellers and not communicators, as brands and not people, we are lost. This might be the age of big names and big people and big personalities, but we are not that. Shooting and talking and branding should be tools of liberation, not containment. They can only serve to create something lasting, durable, and sturdy, when they come from a point of resonance as humans. We are those branches. Ascending. Pushing. Striving. Looking for light, looking for sun, waiting for the spring. As human beings.
Seth Godin talked about permission this morning in his newsletter. That we already have permission to do whatever we need to do. We don’t need to ask. And looking through 10 seasons running a business, 10 seasons shooting, breaking it all down, and putting it back together, being at the Gathering, compiling all of this material, and spending a few days around some inspirational individuals living and striving and pushing to make things happen – I couldn’t concur more. Fuck permission. This was just the reminder I needed to remember that nourishment is the space to breathe, the confidence to live, some air in your lungs, some food in your stomach, and a whole lot of love for what you have. Yeah, it’s been an amazing few weeks.
Wow! Thanks Spencer for teaching us this week. It was an honor to have you there and we all became better artists and business owners because of you. I can’ thank you enough for your time and commitment to helping all of us grow as better people!
Amen Spencer! Fuck permission indeed. This week was amazing on so many levels, meeting and talking with you being one of the highlights for sure. Thanks for speaking and for challenging us all to raise the bar for ourselves and for our industry. 🙂
Well said, Spencer! Thanks for an “amazing” day : D
I find it strange how many seminars/classes are either all creative or all business, but yours was actually the perfect combination!
You exceeded my expectations