As a photographer or any creative person trying to fight for attention in a very saturated market, it can be very frustrating and damaging to your morale and motivation when your content is only getting a tiny handful of views, likes or subscribers, while you watch other creatives have huge success with mass audiences and engagement.
If you can relate with that then my latest podcast episode is for you. In this episode I share a short story which will teach you to appreciate your worth and your impact as a photographer and person. No matter how small it may seem, know that you are making a difference.
Listen to the podcast episode in full below or alternatively scroll down to read the story instead.
What you do matters - No matter how small it may seem:
The story begins on a beach, it's low tide and early morning and it's set to be a very hot and sunny day. The sun is at the horizon.
A young man is walking down the beach and notices that there are thousands of starfish stranded all across the beach.
He is saddened knowing that as the sun continues to rise and the heat increases, many of these stranded starfish will die.
As he walks, he looks up and notices someone dancing or something, he isn't sure what is going on but curious, he walks closer to see.
As he gets closer he sees that the person is an old man and he's throwing star fish into the ocean one at a time.
He watches the old man as he bends and picks up a starfish, gazes out to the ocean and then with all of his strength, throws the starfish into the deeper waters. He breathes in, breathes out and then he bends down and picks up another starfish.
Bewildered, the young man asks the old man 'what are you doing?'
The old man pauses, turns to the young man, smiles with kindness in his eyes and says, 'I'm throwing the starfish into the ocean. It's low tide and it's going to be a very hot day.
Ah, says the young man as he remembers feeling the same concern when he first saw the starfish on the beach.
'But Sir!' he says, 'there are thousands of starfish, however can you make a difference?'
The old man bends down, picks up a starfish, but then he pauses, looks at the young man and says, 'it makes a difference for this one.' And then he gets back to work and throws the starfish far into the ocean.