Fun Few Weeks for Photography

It's been an interesting month for taking photos. I finally made the decision to upgrade my Nikon D50 to a Nikon D200...not the top-of-the-line but it's a damn fine camera nonetheless. I knew upgrading would be a huge improvement in having a tool to be able to do things more creatively and I am even more surprised now that I own it as to how accurate I was in that assessment. While my wife still thinks of it as a "new toy" (and there probably is some truth to that) it actually is just a more powerful tool to push the levels of creativity in photography farther. I think of it as a better brush to the painter. The artist never changed, just the tool to deliver the artistry became more effective.


So, of course, with the new camera in the bag I decided I needed to start shooting as much as possible last week to get the feel for it. The weekend started quick with another shoot for TheDirty.com. They are always a lot of fun to work with. I did two night's of shooting with them...one on Halloween and again the night after, both at the Prive' nightclub at Planet Hollywood. I knew it would bring out the craziest Las Vegas tourists had to offer and I got some awesome photos there.

Three days later, I had the privilege of shooting a young model from Denver, Colorado, Lauren Travis. I was looking at doing an artistic nude shoot with someone and after interviewing about half-a-dozen, she had the exact look I was seeking. She hadn't done many shoots before and she was comfortable with the type of shoot I was looking for so we chose Red Rock (just moments outside of Las Vegas) and she worked out better than expected. We did a bunch of great head-shots for her out in Calico Basin and in some hidden locations around the Scenic Loop we did the other shots.

Fast forward to mid-week. SEMA was in town, the huge automotive industry trade show. Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE exotic cars. Having driven many of them, I have a passion for Ferraris and I thought no better place would be to photograph some. Aside from all the classic cars, hot rods, and Japanese import street racers, there were a few exotics there for sure. Not as many as I was hoping for but there were a few. I saw a few Ferraris, several Lambos, some Ford GTs, and even a Mosler. I was really hoping to see a Bugatti, Pagani Zonda, or a Koenigsegg and was let-down to see neither. Still though, it was a fun place to get some great photos (special thanks to Vanessa with Mariott Resorts for helping me out with the pass!).

It got me thinking though, with such an insane week of shooting, Vegas really is a increcible place to live from a photographer's point of view. Not only do we have the coolest trade shows, awesome nature areas, amazing skyline, and a 24/7 party mentality, it really is one of of the greatest cities in the world! To have the ability to capture the moments digitally of such beauty is a real privilege, in my opionion and I am looking forward to getting back to my photographic roots, so to speak, and taking more advantage of all the beautiful imagery this city has to offer.

Recently I interviewed with Christie's Photography here in Las Vegas. They are one of the top photography houses in Las Vegas and Orlando with such notable clients as Lowes, Harrahs, MGM Grand, and more. They had a need for a few more freelance photographers to add to their very reputable crew and I was selected along with two others out of the 50+ people that interviewed with them. When I was speaking with their regional manager in the interview, the topic of what my opion of photography was...whether it was an artform or not. I'm a HUGE believer that it is. Mid-Month we all had an orientation with one of the executives from the organization along with our regional manager and it was extremely informative. There is a lot to be said about being on a team of people who actually REALLY know what they are talking about.

Earlier in the week, I grabbed my camera and with my wife and in-laws we decided to play "tourist" on the Strip and Downtown for a few hours. I've been wanting to do that for quite some time and it was fun to finally get around to that. I'll have those photos up on the site soon. So be sure to look for them on my new URL at www.shotbyadam.com.

The Rich & The Middle Class

I just got through reading a fantastic book called The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class by Cameron Smith. In the book, Cameron explains the differences in the patters that lower, middle, and upper class people do in their lives that either escalate their financial status, leave them stagnating, or even lower their financial position. In this Blog, I want to focus on three primary topics the author discussed in depth that are so vital in understanding how different types of people think.

The book follows the concept that in a financial class system you have five general categories:

Super Rich (multi-millionaires and billionaires)
Rich (solid 6-figure income to low millionaire)
Middle Class (the majority of income levels in America)
Poor (poverty-level / minimum wage income)
Super Poor (homeless with no source of income)

There are three primary reasons why some people are in a higher financial level than others. Short of having major financial catastrophes (life debilitating illness and the like), it comes down to the amount of risk someone is willing to take to become more successful and the average block of time someone plans in their financial endeavors. Lastly, it comes down to delegation of time and multiple streams of income.

First, let's look at the risk factor. For most middle class Americans, high-risk is considered quitting one job to go for another one which is of lateral or slightly higher status. Unfortunately, many middle-class business owners fall into this risk trap too. They don't want to create new things or go in directions with their business outside their own realm of understanding. They fail to risk so they stagnate where they are. Virtually all of the Super Rich were people who started with just one store or selling one item somewhere. It's not until they ballooned their one store into 1000 until they hit that high financial status. It was the risk to say that, "one store just isn't good enough."

Many entrepreneurs get stuck in the middle-class because of their unwillingness to want to take more risks. For some, the huge risk was quitting a j-o-b and they just aren't willing to go any farther. As a result, the wealthy status they rarely hit. They expect opportunities to just land in their lap and rarely, if ever, does that actually happen. Opportunities are created; they don't just appear by luck. The troublesome issue is that fear is what creates a lack of risk. The fear of losing one's house, the fear that the new opportunity won't work, and the ultimate fear of failure. It is BECAUSE of fear, not in spite of it which causes people to become super rich. I can guarantee you that people such as Donald Trump and Bill Gates have failed in more business deals than most people could even fathom, and yet it's those failures that makes them better, not hinders them to go for more. If you truly want to succeed in anything you do, understand you're going to fail a lot. That's just how the game is played. Remember, Michael Jordan has missed over 9,000 shots in his career. 26 times he was trusted to make the game-winning shot and missed. It's for that reason he succeeds.

As for the time commitment, studies have shown that the wealthier someone is the farter out in time they look at their life. As the book breaks down the different classes, they see time as:

Super Rich: Looks at business ventures in a 5-10 year period out from today. They set plans in motion that will make them money years from now in a huge way. They build hospitals, hotels, etc. that all take large risk and monetary commitment over long periods of time and create massive returns when they cash-in.

Rich: Tend to look at their life in yearly increments. They often are heard saying, "My plan for next year is to have this new business launched that will….."

Middle Class: Look at their life in month-to-month. Typical issues are how the bills are getting paid this month, how they are investing their retirement money right now, a new small project they want to start in a few weeks, etc. They often live paycheck to paycheck and work hard with little long-term rewards. Their lives are planned around vacation times and monthly budgets. When asked what they see in their financial future in one year, rarely can they come up with a good answer.

Poor: Lives day to day. Often have no expendable money, need some sort of financial or government assistance program to get them through the month. Are never worried with next month because, "I just have to get through today."

Super Poor: See their lives in an hour by hour basis. Primary issues are where the next meal is going to come from.

So looking at this, where do you fall-in? It might be worth examining how you strategize and organize your professional life to see how you can start going for more.

Lastly, it's about delegation of time. They have shown that typically the wealthier someone is, the more hours of work they expend in an average day. Typically they work weekends and plan their down-time rather than just expect it. The difference is between the rich and middle-class is that while the rich and super rich spend more time working, the time they do commit to is much more efficient. They clone themselves through staffing and use that staff to accomplish tasks to free up time so that they can focus on more important tasks. A typical issue with middle-class entrepreneurs is that they think, "If I don't do it, it won't get done" and as a result, they work many hours inefficiently. If you fall into this category, the first thing you should do tomorrow is hire a personal assistant. Many people see this as a financial liability because you now have to pay someone. The issue is, if you are paying your own bills, running your own errands, answering your own phone, you are literally working your life as if you were working a minimum wage job. You truly cannot afford to be doing it all yourself. Delegate tasks that you can train people to do and you will be astounded at how much more money you make.

As for time management it's about being able to work time more effectively too. Rich and Super Rich people all have multiple streams of income. They don't own one business they own two, or four, or a hundred. They all have these individual systems working to create them money. The easiest thing for them to do this is to create activities that make them money in their sleep. The most effective way to do this? Own your own POWERFUL website. Use the strategies and systems of advanced Internet marketing experts at your disposal to get you on track to leap-frogging out of your middle-class environment into one which will reap the rewards you truly want.

At the Millionaire Marketing Group, we can do that for you. Website design, makeovers, E-Mail campaigns, landing pages, Youtube and MySpace marketing and more. E-Mail us today at
support@mmglv.com and we will be happy to brainstorm with you about how we can launch your next stream of income for you and turn the Internet into your own, personal cash register!