Julie's Stint as a Radio Show Cohost

Aww, hi everybody! Can't wait to update you with what I've been doing besides blogging. Everything is changing so fast. If you aren't following my antics on Facebook, do it! http://www.facebook.com/julie.watts

So one of the most fun things I did this summer was cohost a radio show on AM with Jennifer Westby for six months, called "Motivational Happy Hour":

There are TOTALLY archived shows you can listen to RIGHT NOW on that link above...don't know how long they will be up there since our show ended in November, so download/listen while you can! lol

See, when Jen asked me if I wanted to be her cohost, I said "Yes!!" without hesitation. I'm trying to discover my voice....my method for supporting others in life, really. I love one-on-one talking...I mean that's probably my favorite, whether it's on Skype or in person. But I love to write, too. And now that I've started Photopantz and been working non-stop on that project for a full year now, I'm starting to feel more comfortable in the role as "Founder of Photopantz". Which, guess what, involves being more of a public representative, going to conventions, meeting tons of people, etc. It's VERY different than my role as a photographer. I don't know why. My goal is to become completely comfortable public speaking. But I'm a little freaked out at being on video. So when this radio gig came up, I was like "Sweet! As long as nobody's watching, I can totally pretend there's not thousands of people out there listening!" And no kidding, it worked. Jen and I were on the air 4 hours a month for six months, talking to guests who were fellow entrepreneurs, and just talking about life and generally trying to be entertaining. I learned I LOVE radio. I hope I get another chance to do it in the future.

If YOU ever get the chance to go to a radio station and be on the air would you please, for me, just DO IT?!! Yes, you might be a little freaked out your first time on air, but every single "newbie" who came on our show beamed afterwards about how it was MUCH more fun and less scary than they thought. And once they heard themselves back in archive, they noted how they sounded better than they thought they did while they were doing it. It's amazing how forgiving our ear is to listening to live radio. But when you are the one in front of the microphone for the first time, you notice every tiny hesitation or "imperfection" and imagine it magnifying and broadcasting across the land! To the listener, however, it sounds just like everyday talking would sound and they think nothing of it.

My whole adult career in photography has been about being behind the camera and setting a tone for my clients so that they can truly relax and get images of themselves they've never seen before. I've started to realize that not only is it OKAY for me to have a more prominent and public role, but that maybe I've secretly wanted that for a long time but felt it was more appropriate to help behind the scenes and support other people face their fears and realize they are capable of doing things they never thought possible. :) I had a major epiphany at legendary photographer Ken Whitmire's Wall Portrait Conference last year. I realized "Holy cow. I not only CAN do the things I assumed I cannot....but could it be possible I was MADE to do these things? And the strongest feeling I ever had in the world replied YES.

I wrote and wrote and wrote after class at the 6-day wall portrait conference, late into the night. And when I got home, I walked into the garage where my husband was and talked to him for SIX hours straight about the incredible perspective shift I had...I mean it was a TRIP. It felt like, holy, or something. You guys ever have an experience like that? Where the universe kind of hits you in the head with a brick?!

As 2011 comes to a close, I am still in a state of exploring what my voice is, and where it belongs. I've been Facebooking like crazy, on my personal page, Julie Watts Photo business page, my Photopantz business page, and not quite as much as I should on my Photopantz Blog. But I've always loved this, my Julie Watts Photo Bloggillicious. This feels like home to me. And even though I have no idea who is reading this, similar to being on the radio, it is easy for me to imagine there's nobody there so it's okay to talk about what I really think.

Thanks for reading my blog posts, whoever is out there. I hope they are inspiring. I hope you get as much out of reading them over the years as I enjoy writing them.

I probably wasn't clear, but our last show aired on Thanksgiving 2011. This was the kind of thing where you paid the network for airtime, not the other way around. So that's why we enjoyed our time while we were there but moved on to other things. :)

Scattered Corners

WARNING! THIS IS A LONG ONE WITH A COOL ENDING!

If you had to sit down with a pencil and paper right now, and draw a picture of what it's like in your mind (the "desktop" of your thought generator), what would it look like? Can you imagine it? Is it neat and tidy? Is it a box? A cube? Is it round? Is it flat? Mushy? Rock? Paper? Swirling light? Smooth granite. Is it a place you can walk through? One way or another, when you shifting your thinking can be easy or it can be chaotic.

I just LOVE thinking about this stuff, because we all go through life together, but process the details so differently sometimes. Give the same 10 people the same life for a day and I guarantee there will be 10 different ways to approach it and 10 different to-do lists. What are the things we can do to get better results and feel more joy each day? It all starts in your head.

If I were to describe my mind most of my adult life, I'd have to describe it as having scattered corners. Interesting, exciting discoveries to contemplate, marinate, and discuss (though "celebrate" rhymed better). A glorious bouquet of curling, corkscrewing potential opportunities. Genius lurks in there, I imagine. Potential. Insight. Inspiration. Guts. Would I call it organized? NO way. Compartmentalized? Nope. Is it easy to turn all of my good ideas into action? Not at all.

It became clear to me after hiring a professional organizer, Melanie, that EVEN when a pro sets up your space tailored specifically to the way YOU think and work, that just might be HALF of the battle to becoming organized. The other half is learning how to conduct.

Check this out. Imagine having an orchestra of talented, enthusiastic musicians, but a disorganized conductor without the music. Now imagine them trying to play. The potential for a song is there, but no one can hear it..NOT because the talent or desire isn't there, but because the conductor doesn't have rhythm and can't get in a flow. The conductor doesn't have the music. Melanie set me up with the tools I needed to make some great music (a.k.a.stress-free productivity) but needed to learn to play it better. Allan is coaching me to do that. The "conductor" of my inner thoughts liked to do most what it does naturally...exploring scattered corners.

I have kept my functionally organized for two years since Melanie blessed my office with her presence! What I have came to realize through that process is that my mental environment could use some organizing too! The conductor in me needed to learn to read music so it could play any music it yearned to play.

Does that make sense? Can you relate to what I'm describing? Life is a song! Learn to play it!

In more concrete terms, I sought MindFit coaching (what Allan does) because:

I didn't want the same ideas or reminders popping into my head day after day.

I didn't want to feel like there was more to do than there was time to do it, day after day.

I wanted to get out of the "must organize" pattern of thinking and get into the "a joyfully prepared & present" way of life.

But it seemed impossible to reconcile; how do I clear out my head of reminders and fears and become so productive and efficient that I ACTUALLY have free-time to pursue those really cool daydreams I dream up?

A vision began to emerge of a different way. After reading David Allen's "Getting Things Done", I began to imagine my thoughts having their own space just as every project in my office has it's own space. Creativity is awesome, but if you are like me and your creative thoughts are smashed in with "should do's" and "must remembers" and "am going to's", it can be murk up your sparkly personality. I can't stand feeling like I am forgetting something. Or that I went through the effort of writing "it" down but cannot remember where.

Being mentored and coached initially by the amazing Karen and Fay of the Wisdom Connection was revolutionary to how I viewed myself, my power, and my belief in my dreams. I don't want to imagine where I would be had I not met the gorgeously expressive group of manifesters changing the world one day at a time down there at the Wisdom Connection. I am proud to call myself one of them.

However, this summer I began specialized MindFit coaching with Allan for several months and I am realizing JUST how scattered those "scattered corners" in my mind were. You know those "busy" days where you have the vague sense that you didn't really get much accomplished? That's what I'm talking about. You have been doing a lot of thinking but it isn't translating into a lot or results or action. Big tasks like photoshoots and weddings were easy to plan and prepare for...they existed in their own tidy context in my mind. Its the everyday (gasp) structure needed for a calm, prepared organized day-to-day LIFE that didn't come naturally.

But guess what I'm like now?! Nothing's more dangerous than an organized CREATIVE person! A creative person with a COACH. A creative person who can move ideas and inspiration into reality. A creative person with a clear mind to focus on developing whatevers best to do NOW.

A creative person who isn't afraid to fail because TRUE failure is....you guessed it....the failure to even TRY.

What aren't you trying that you really WANT to?

Anytime we change our behaviors intentionally, it's that whole "practice" part that makes it work for the long-term. Sticking to it. Returning to the system. Again. Getting back on track. Again. My mind LOVES getting off track! But you know what? I have a newfound enjoyment in getting it back ON track. Recieving coaching helps the getting-back-on-track process so much quicker and easier.

My life has become dramatically more joyful and relaxed since recieving coaching, and I'm absolutely FASCINATED at how we make decisions in our lives, judgments about the outside world, and how that creates the reality we find ourselves in right at this moment. Pursuing photography as a business has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. Sure, I could have gone to graduate school and worked at a 9-5. But I just couldn't. I knew I had to pursue photography with all of my heart and mind, self-taught and blazing my own trail. And even though I occasionally attended groups with other photographers, at the end of the day, pursuing a photography business can feel LONELY. I know I'm NOT alone because I've talked to so many of you out there who feel the same way I sometimes do. Many photographers now have shared how refreshed and inspired they feel after our heart-to-heart talks about business. It inspires me too! This is the year to acknowledge that deep pull I have felt to talk to you about the psychological side of business, blog at ya about it, talk to you on the forums about it (like Me Ra's Soarority), and speak publically on the topic of passion & enthusiasm. One of the main reasons I sought out MindFit coaching was because it frustrated me that I had so much difficulty turning THAT desire to connect, into a reality.

But not anymore! I am nervously excited and relieved to share that....

I am training to add "Certified Personal Development Coach" to my repertoire!

I help photographers create a clear vision for their future, and providing support as they manifest it. Because whether you believe it or not, no one has to lose in order for you to succeed at photography. It has nothing to do with anyone else but you.

I want to offer four FREE weekly coaching calls to one individual who was inspired by this post today. What could you change in a month if you had Julie Watts to mentor you along? Just email me at julie@juliewattsphoto.com with the title "Free Coaching" in the Subject line. I will read all submissions and choose the lucky recipient and contacting them by October 31.

Good luck! I would love to hear from you!

Julie Watts Workshops

Hi Everybody! I have been totally preoccupied these past few weeks...putting lots of thought, energy, and passion into an INCREDIBLE Puerto Vallarta, Mexico destination wedding (assisted by one of my favorite photographers in the WORLD, Cam Colclough of Calgary Canada), a lively Capitol wedding in Olympia, WA, the STAND OUT PROM Masquarade Glam Shoot, as well as several creatively inspiring custom portrait sessions, all of which I will be sharing with you here on the blog in the coming days and weeks. But there's one item I am TICKLED PINK to announce because I've thought, talked, ruminated, dreamed, wrote, thought, talked some more about ever since I first heard this question: "Julie, are you going to EVER hold a workshop I can attend?!"

After almost a DECADE in the photography business, spending THOUSANDS of dollars and many MANY hours attending photography workshops and classes, and writing pages upon pages of soul-searchin' curriculum for you, I now officially announce:



I can't WAIT to share with aspiring, amateur, & professional photographers alike, what I have learned over these past 10 years. Ten years of conquering fears, celebrating successes, and learning more about myself through my relationship with photography than I ever would have imagined, back when I was "just a 24-year-old stay-at-home-mom, with a Olympus Z4040, and a baby on my hip."

Seats are limited to make it easier for everyone attending to ask specific, personal questions and for me to give specific, personal answers at the end of each segment. Call my Studio Line at 253.229.1818 or email me at julie@juliewattsphoto.com to register! Don't wait!