If you’re on a mega mission in life, you’re probably hustling like a maniac to make it happen. This is the Epic Era of the Entrepreneur (I made that up) and we’re in high-gear toward our goals on the horizon. With the constant notifications on your cell phone, the emails that seem to keep adding to the magical mountain of opportunities, and the demand for your time, energy, and love from the people in your life – you just can’t get a break.
Yes, I know you love it. And so do I. I’m in love with what I’m up to. I wouldn’t give up my passions for anything.
But at some point, we have to shift gears. It’s a nice fantasy to think that we can do it ALL by ourselves, but let’s tell our ego to STFU for a minute. We CAN do anything, but we can’t do EVERYTHING. Do what you do best and hire people to do the rest. There’s your first nugget. Put it in your pocket.
If hiring a personal assistant (or cloning a life saver I know, named Sarah) isn’t a part of your budget, then recruit an intern. If you’re an awesome human being, there is someone a bit younger than you who would LOVE to learn from your triumphs and tragedies. If you want to be a millionaire, stop doing $10/hr tasks.
When you decide that your time is extremely valuable, you won’t waste it on tedious BS. You just won’t.
You will, instead, organize your time and day in such a way that it’ll feel like you have 26 hours to use. People ask me how in the world I have the time to do everything that I do. Here are some of my favorite ways to stay on top of my stuff, like a BOSS WOMAN:
1) Write down all of your promises.
When we get excited in the moment, we like to make promises – even simple ones – like, “I’ll email you that recipe I found!” or even big ones – like, “I’ll be at your birthday next week!” When we don’t write down our stuff, we expect our brain to remind us. With 50,000-70,000 thoughts every day, we don’t have a lot of brain space to itemize a mental to-do list. If you write down your promises, events, and commitments – it’ll support you in NOT double booking, forgetting entirely, and looking like a total jerk for not coming through. Crossing off items on a promises list feels so good!
2) Say NO unless it’s in alignment with your vision.
Distractions like to get all dressed up and look like opportunities. Spend time with people who lift you up and are in alignment with your vision. If someone wants to “grab coffee” it may be because they just wanna pick your brain about how you got to be so successful. This exchange can take place via email and you can invest that hour into meeting with a potential business ally or cleaning out your living space and car.
3) Clean up your energy.
Energy is energy is energy. If you have a cluttered space, it’ll be all up in yo’ face. Toss the mail that’s stacking up on the kitchen counter. You don’t need to keep EVERY receipt. That shirt in your closet that you haven’t worn in 8 months? Get rid of it. Why is there a pair of scissors sitting on top of the TV? Put ’em back in the drawer! Our life usually is a reflection of the way the inside of our purse or car looks. Ladies – purse check! What’s in there right now? Or, what I should ask is: what ISN’T in there? Guys, is the inside of your car organized right now? Or does it look just like your laundry-bombed bedroom?
4) Disconnect every once in a while.
Once upon a time, I accidentally put my phone on “airplane mode”. My phone is ALWAYS on silent so I didn’t think anything of it. I went to check my phone and had realized my subconscious way of throwing up the white flag. I left it on “airplane mode” for a few more hours and I felt FREE. Did my social media universe combust and fall apart? Nope. Did I miss a call that couldn’t be returned? Not a chance. And when I did get back to my phone, I’d accomplished my other stuff so I could be focused on returning calls and messages while not being distracted. It’s exhausting to ALWAYS be connected and available. Create a cut-off time at night so people know you have healthy barriers.
5) KNOW that your dreams won’t happen overnight.
Yes, sometimes they do. But most of the time they do not. I like to think of my BIG dreams as palm trees. I’m fascinated by those things. To successfully plant and grow one of them, the seed itself has to be carefully germinated. After planted under the soil, NOTHING happens for weeks or months – or so it seems. There’s a lot that is happening in the ground, but our impatient eye can’t see a damn thing. And then finally, a sprout! A sign of life! Then the plant is moved to a bigger pot, and then eventually planted where it’s meant to grow to its fullest potential. The roots grow up to 15 feet deep and then sometimes 20 feet in each direction under the ground. These trees are SO tall and beautiful, beyond flexible in the most treacherous storm, and I’ve never seen one laying on the ground. They’re unstoppable!
If you’re committed to your dreams, the roots will stand strong and the first sign of success will sprout when ready. You can’t rush or slow down the karmic speed of ANYTHING. Let go of the stress of trying to make everything happen RIGHT NOW. Be in the moment while you keep moving forward. Live a little, or a lot, and remember to laugh at yourself. Just like vampires, stress only affects us if we invite it into our space. Remember, having a lot going on > having NOTHING going on. Be grateful, love all that is you, and read this blog when you feel like your day only has 23 hours in it.
For more content like this, check out Jenna’s website at imonamission.com
LET'S CONSPIRE & CREATE
CULTIVATING YOUR VISUAL UNIQUENESS AND STREAMLINING YOUR BRAND'S EVOLUTION
If you’re on a mega mission in life, you’re probably hustling like a maniac to make it happen. This is the Epic Era of the Entrepreneur (I made that up) and we’re in high-gear toward our goals on the horizon. With the constant notifications on your cell phone, the emails that seem to keep adding to the magical mountain of opportunities, and the demand for your time, energy, and love from the people in your life – you just can’t get a break.
Yes, I know you love it. And so do I. I’m in love with what I’m up to. I wouldn’t give up my passions for anything.
But at some point, we have to shift gears. It’s a nice fantasy to think that we can do it ALL by ourselves, but let’s tell our ego to STFU for a minute. We CAN do anything, but we can’t do EVERYTHING. Do what you do best and hire people to do the rest. There’s your first nugget. Put it in your pocket.
If hiring a personal assistant (or cloning a life saver I know, named Sarah) isn’t a part of your budget, then recruit an intern. If you’re an awesome human being, there is someone a bit younger than you who would LOVE to learn from your triumphs and tragedies. If you want to be a millionaire, stop doing $10/hr tasks.
When you decide that your time is extremely valuable, you won’t waste it on tedious BS. You just won’t.
You will, instead, organize your time and day in such a way that it’ll feel like you have 26 hours to use. People ask me how in the world I have the time to do everything that I do. Here are some of my favorite ways to stay on top of my stuff, like a BOSS WOMAN:
1) Write down all of your promises.
When we get excited in the moment, we like to make promises – even simple ones – like, “I’ll email you that recipe I found!” or even big ones – like, “I’ll be at your birthday next week!” When we don’t write down our stuff, we expect our brain to remind us. With 50,000-70,000 thoughts every day, we don’t have a lot of brain space to itemize a mental to-do list. If you write down your promises, events, and commitments – it’ll support you in NOT double booking, forgetting entirely, and looking like a total jerk for not coming through. Crossing off items on a promises list feels so good!
2) Say NO unless it’s in alignment with your vision.
Distractions like to get all dressed up and look like opportunities. Spend time with people who lift you up and are in alignment with your vision. If someone wants to “grab coffee” it may be because they just wanna pick your brain about how you got to be so successful. This exchange can take place via email and you can invest that hour into meeting with a potential business ally or cleaning out your living space and car.
3) Clean up your energy.
Energy is energy is energy. If you have a cluttered space, it’ll be all up in yo’ face. Toss the mail that’s stacking up on the kitchen counter. You don’t need to keep EVERY receipt. That shirt in your closet that you haven’t worn in 8 months? Get rid of it. Why is there a pair of scissors sitting on top of the TV? Put ’em back in the drawer! Our life usually is a reflection of the way the inside of our purse or car looks. Ladies – purse check! What’s in there right now? Or, what I should ask is: what ISN’T in there? Guys, is the inside of your car organized right now? Or does it look just like your laundry-bombed bedroom?
4) Disconnect every once in a while.
Once upon a time, I accidentally put my phone on “airplane mode”. My phone is ALWAYS on silent so I didn’t think anything of it. I went to check my phone and had realized my subconscious way of throwing up the white flag. I left it on “airplane mode” for a few more hours and I felt FREE. Did my social media universe combust and fall apart? Nope. Did I miss a call that couldn’t be returned? Not a chance. And when I did get back to my phone, I’d accomplished my other stuff so I could be focused on returning calls and messages while not being distracted. It’s exhausting to ALWAYS be connected and available. Create a cut-off time at night so people know you have healthy barriers.
5) KNOW that your dreams won’t happen overnight.
Yes, sometimes they do. But most of the time they do not. I like to think of my BIG dreams as palm trees. I’m fascinated by those things. To successfully plant and grow one of them, the seed itself has to be carefully germinated. After planted under the soil, NOTHING happens for weeks or months – or so it seems. There’s a lot that is happening in the ground, but our impatient eye can’t see a damn thing. And then finally, a sprout! A sign of life! Then the plant is moved to a bigger pot, and then eventually planted where it’s meant to grow to its fullest potential. The roots grow up to 15 feet deep and then sometimes 20 feet in each direction under the ground. These trees are SO tall and beautiful, beyond flexible in the most treacherous storm, and I’ve never seen one laying on the ground. They’re unstoppable!
If you’re committed to your dreams, the roots will stand strong and the first sign of success will sprout when ready. You can’t rush or slow down the karmic speed of ANYTHING. Let go of the stress of trying to make everything happen RIGHT NOW. Be in the moment while you keep moving forward. Live a little, or a lot, and remember to laugh at yourself. Just like vampires, stress only affects us if we invite it into our space. Remember, having a lot going on > having NOTHING going on. Be grateful, love all that is you, and read this blog when you feel like your day only has 23 hours in it.
For more content like this, check out Jenna’s website at imonamission.com
4/21/14
5 tips on dealing with the feeling of being overwhelmed
infuse your vision with a fresh breath of creativity and vitality
BOOK A BRAND PHOTOSHOOT
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GET THE DETAILS
infuse your vision with a fresh breath of creativity and vitality
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masterfully aligning perception and reality through personal branding
masterfully aligning perception and reality through personal branding
If you’re on a mega mission in life, you’re probably hustling like a maniac to make it happen. This is the Epic Era of the Entrepreneur (I made that up) and we’re in high-gear toward our goals on the horizon. With the constant notifications on your cell phone, the emails that seem to keep adding to the magical mountain of opportunities, and the demand for your time, energy, and love from the people in your life – you just can’t get a break.
Yes, I know you love it. And so do I. I’m in love with what I’m up to. I wouldn’t give up my passions for anything.
But at some point, we have to shift gears. It’s a nice fantasy to think that we can do it ALL by ourselves, but let’s tell our ego to STFU for a minute. We CAN do anything, but we can’t do EVERYTHING. Do what you do best and hire people to do the rest. There’s your first nugget. Put it in your pocket.
If hiring a personal assistant (or cloning a life saver I know, named Sarah) isn’t a part of your budget, then recruit an intern. If you’re an awesome human being, there is someone a bit younger than you who would LOVE to learn from your triumphs and tragedies. If you want to be a millionaire, stop doing $10/hr tasks.
When you decide that your time is extremely valuable, you won’t waste it on tedious BS. You just won’t.
You will, instead, organize your time and day in such a way that it’ll feel like you have 26 hours to use. People ask me how in the world I have the time to do everything that I do. Here are some of my favorite ways to stay on top of my stuff, like a BOSS WOMAN:
1) Write down all of your promises.
When we get excited in the moment, we like to make promises – even simple ones – like, “I’ll email you that recipe I found!” or even big ones – like, “I’ll be at your birthday next week!” When we don’t write down our stuff, we expect our brain to remind us. With 50,000-70,000 thoughts every day, we don’t have a lot of brain space to itemize a mental to-do list. If you write down your promises, events, and commitments – it’ll support you in NOT double booking, forgetting entirely, and looking like a total jerk for not coming through. Crossing off items on a promises list feels so good!
2) Say NO unless it’s in alignment with your vision.
Distractions like to get all dressed up and look like opportunities. Spend time with people who lift you up and are in alignment with your vision. If someone wants to “grab coffee” it may be because they just wanna pick your brain about how you got to be so successful. This exchange can take place via email and you can invest that hour into meeting with a potential business ally or cleaning out your living space and car.
3) Clean up your energy.
Energy is energy is energy. If you have a cluttered space, it’ll be all up in yo’ face. Toss the mail that’s stacking up on the kitchen counter. You don’t need to keep EVERY receipt. That shirt in your closet that you haven’t worn in 8 months? Get rid of it. Why is there a pair of scissors sitting on top of the TV? Put ’em back in the drawer! Our life usually is a reflection of the way the inside of our purse or car looks. Ladies – purse check! What’s in there right now? Or, what I should ask is: what ISN’T in there? Guys, is the inside of your car organized right now? Or does it look just like your laundry-bombed bedroom?
4) Disconnect every once in a while.
Once upon a time, I accidentally put my phone on “airplane mode”. My phone is ALWAYS on silent so I didn’t think anything of it. I went to check my phone and had realized my subconscious way of throwing up the white flag. I left it on “airplane mode” for a few more hours and I felt FREE. Did my social media universe combust and fall apart? Nope. Did I miss a call that couldn’t be returned? Not a chance. And when I did get back to my phone, I’d accomplished my other stuff so I could be focused on returning calls and messages while not being distracted. It’s exhausting to ALWAYS be connected and available. Create a cut-off time at night so people know you have healthy barriers.
5) KNOW that your dreams won’t happen overnight.
Yes, sometimes they do. But most of the time they do not. I like to think of my BIG dreams as palm trees. I’m fascinated by those things. To successfully plant and grow one of them, the seed itself has to be carefully germinated. After planted under the soil, NOTHING happens for weeks or months – or so it seems. There’s a lot that is happening in the ground, but our impatient eye can’t see a damn thing. And then finally, a sprout! A sign of life! Then the plant is moved to a bigger pot, and then eventually planted where it’s meant to grow to its fullest potential. The roots grow up to 15 feet deep and then sometimes 20 feet in each direction under the ground. These trees are SO tall and beautiful, beyond flexible in the most treacherous storm, and I’ve never seen one laying on the ground. They’re unstoppable!
If you’re committed to your dreams, the roots will stand strong and the first sign of success will sprout when ready. You can’t rush or slow down the karmic speed of ANYTHING. Let go of the stress of trying to make everything happen RIGHT NOW. Be in the moment while you keep moving forward. Live a little, or a lot, and remember to laugh at yourself. Just like vampires, stress only affects us if we invite it into our space. Remember, having a lot going on > having NOTHING going on. Be grateful, love all that is you, and read this blog when you feel like your day only has 23 hours in it.
For more content like this, check out Jenna’s website at imonamission.com
4/21/14
5 tips on dealing with the feeling of being overwhelmed
When you need a trusted creative partner in the room.
Take the Fit Check
Be seen at the level you’re stepping into.
Hey! I'm Nick.
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BRAND ALCHEMIST
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Build authority from the inside out.
Emanate is a creative-direction-led photography experience for entrepreneurs, speakers, and thought leaders in a moment of expansion. This isn’t about better photos. It’s about aligning how you’re seen with who you’ve become. For seasons of rebrand, visibility, and next-level leadership.
Magnetic Authority is a self-guided container for people who feel visible, but not fully anchored.
If your message keeps shifting, your brand feels inconsistent, or your presence doesn’t match your capability yet. This is where you build the foundation before you scale.
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For founders, creatives, and leaders who want a trusted long-term partner. This isn’t coaching or traditional consulting.
It’s an ongoing creative partnership focused on bringing your personal brand identity to life.
Your brand. Your website. Your visuals.
All shaped as a direct extension of who you are. The work also includes a bespoke process of identifying and aligning the right experts when needed, so nothing gets built out of sync with your core.
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Brand guidelines are static rules for the surface. A Brand Brain is a living codification of identity a team or an AI can generate from. The difference, defined.
We trained six styles of kung fu in one month. Sampling that widely taught me how a creative actually finds the practice worth years: breadth first, the pull as data, then depth.
Travel makes you more creative because unfamiliar places wake up your perception. Why the effect works, and how to bring the sharpened eye home with you.
Your brand photos lag behind you because you kept evolving and the images stayed frozen. Why the gap opens, how to spot it, and what closes it.
The kung fu school had rules: locked-in weekdays, dawn starts, push-ups for lateness. A month inside taught me that constraints you choose are what make depth possible.
A daily creative practice is making one real thing every day, however small, to stay in a proactive state. A working definition, and how to build one that lasts.
AI describes your brand by averaging your public record. How to codify one identity, repeat it everywhere, and get the machines to echo you back accurately.
I’ve photographed Justin Bieber several times and seen fame up close. His stripped-down Coachella set showed the thing I keep relearning about creative work: production amplifies, and only artistry carries.
You recover from creative burnout by treating it as a nervous system state: build real down-cycles, read your own signals, and return to the work you love.
A magnetic personal brand comes from coherence and one clear through-line. Here is how entrepreneurs build one, in order, and the trap that keeps most brands scattered.
I spent a month training kung fu in Wudang at 47, the oldest and slowest learner in the room. What being a beginner again in midlife taught me about pace, comparison, and starting anyway.
You develop taste through thousands of reps of looking closely and deciding what works. A photographer’s honest answer on how taste gets built.
You make a personal brand more coherent by naming the identity underneath it, distilling a one or two word through-line, and bringing the four layers into agreement. The full path, in order.
About the Blogger
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
