Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hi, and welcome to episode 133 of sustainable photography. I'm Engel Colness, and I feel like quite a lot has changed since my last solo episode. Just to clarify, I tend to record the interview episodes all during, like, a couple of weeks with a lot of them scheduled, and then that's done for a few months. And then I record or solo episodes, usually the day before or the week before. So it's been two weeks since I last spoke with you. And the day it was launched two weeks ago, I was on a telegram chat with my mentoring group, which is something I am quite often, and a few of them were saying how hard it was to post. With everything that's going on in the Middle east, there's so many horrible things happening, and they just felt stuck and felt bad. And it's like, what can I do? And based on that conversation, I was on the train at the time going to an event. And so I had a lot of time just to kind of sit there, and it got me thinking, but what can I do?
[00:01:15] And then I started, like, thinking about it as it was an actual, like, as I was solving just a normal issue in my business. So I started writing down some ideas based on what I'm good at and what I can do. And one thing that I am good at is kind of collecting information, making it easy to find, making it easy to understand. And I'm also quite good at doing web design. And after doing a bit of research, I figured out that it's kind of hard to know what to do. Like, if you actually want to do something, there's tons of organizations, there's a lot of events going on, and everything was really scattered. So I thought maybe if I kind of compile it together and make a website and filled with information about what you can do if you want to make a difference. So that's what I did. I started doing some research to find out what was out there and started making that website the same night, actually. And I reached out to a couple of people. I reached out to an art activist who lives in my town who does these beautiful art pieces, and I asked her if I could use her illustrations on the website. And I reached out to someone else on Instagram who said she was doing communications, and if anyone needed help with anything, she'd be happy to look at it. So I reached out to both these people, and I didn't hear back. And immediately I was like, this was stupid. Who am I? What was I thinking? Like, of course this is a stupid idea. Of course there's something like this already out there. And I started really doubting myself. And you need to know that I'm the kind of person who, if I decide to do something, it needs to happen right here, right now. So after messaging these people and it being more than, I don't know, 10 hours before they replied to me, that was the same as it being a no.
[00:03:22] But finally, finally they did reply and they're both like, this is a great idea. Of course you can use my illustrations, and this is a great idea. I would love to help. And I've passed the idea on to other people that I'm working with. And just as soon as these two people said, yes, that's a good idea, do it, I was like, I went all in because I'd already made kind of like a skeleton that was kind of ugly. And with her beautiful illustrations, I could make it prettier. And even though, again, I couldn't wait, so I just had to use my own wording and just kind of get it out there. So by the time I left the event, the website was done and I had already kind of put it out there into the world. And I made a reel and posted it on Instagram to kind of get some attention on it, to just tell people, like, this is what's going on, and please share. And I messaged a lot of people, people with a lot of followers and influence, to see, like, can you please pass this on? And it worked. And a reel got about 130,000 views and the website got about 5000 hits in just that first day.
[00:04:41] And that's when I realized, like, I guess there was a real need for this. I need to do more. So I made an Instagram account. And that's something that I've been working on every day since, probably more than I should. But that feeling of, I feel like I'm making a difference. I feel like I'm doing something useful that really means something to me. And that's what I want to talk about now. Your values, you need to know your values and you need to follow your values. And this is something we focus on. I would say quite a lot in my mentoring program that you need to find out why you do the thing you do. You need to find out what truly matters to you and what your values are. If you don't know, then it can be really hard to do the right things because you can easily end up making decisions based on fear or just something that isn't right for you. If you know that you value time, home with your family, then you can set up your business in a way where you'll get work close to home and not travel based work as an example. And of course, this is a passion project and I am not doing it for business reasons. But the effect of this, even though it's not really related to what I do, it has gotten me a lot of followers and attention. So who knows? Down the line, maybe it'll lead to something. And I think that's the amazing thing that happens when you follow your values and you do what feels right to you, that you're just putting yourself in the place where you're supposed to be.
[00:06:25] So that's what I want for you too. To get really clear on what you value and to make sure that your business is set up around that, so you don't end up in a place where you're just doing a lot of things and you're ending up having built a life and a business around something that you don't really want, because that is so easy to do. And another thing that I want to mention is when you do something that's based on your values and that you're really passionate about, you have to be really careful that you don't burn out. And I'm coming from a place where I've worked on this project, now it feels like 24/7 for two weeks.
[00:07:07] And that is not good. It won't do you any good if you work too much and you end up in a place where you are not able to do anything anymore. And earlier today, a guy phoned me who's doing something kind of similar to what I'm doing. He's collecting an overview of events happening in Oslo to support Gaza and Palestine. And he told me that when it started out, it was him and a bunch of people, and slowly they had all just disappeared because of burnout. And it was just him left.
[00:07:44] And I really don't doubt that because it's so easy to get so caught up in it and to not allow yourself to breathe or take a break, because what you're doing is so much more important. I'm not saying that this is easy, but just pay attention to whatever it is you're doing and make sure that you're scheduling in some downtime. And for me, that's part of what I am working on now where I've set up the system, or I'm working to set up the system where if someone submits an event, it's gonna automatically be posted on the website and that's going to free up a lot of time for me not having to copy paste and just do all the things myself manually. And hopefully I can also make a system where it can send information to this guy in Oslo and other locations where the local events are only displayed. Anyway. A bit geeky. And you know, that's not the point. The point is that I want you to do something that you're passionate about. And I also want you to know that you can make a difference and it can be on any topic that you're interested in, that you're passionate about. And I think just doing something, whatever it is that matters to you, is important. It's important because it's going to light you up, it's going to make you come alive.
[00:09:07] And it's also something that can attract like minded people to you, kind of collecting your tribe, if you will. Just make sure that you set some boundaries. As you know, that's not what I am best at, but I'm working on it and maybe next time. That's what the episode can be all about. Who knows? If you want to work with me, imperfect as I am, I am accepting applications for starting new web design projects in the fall, and you can also apply to be in the next round of the mentorship program. And you can send me an email or DM if you're curious about other ways to work with me, like one on one, don't hesitate to reach out because I do love hearing from you. Bye for now.
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