It never fails. You embark on a major undertaking. And it seems like everything that has the ability to happen, does. And for most times, no reason at all. Small things get exponentially blown out of proportion. But one fact still remains, in spite of it all.

The mission must be completed.

Outside factors be damned, the completion of the mission is won and lost in the mind. If you do not have control of the mind, you have already failed.

The mission must be completed.

You have this one life to get done all that you possibly can.

The mission must be completed.

It will be nobody’s fault but yours if you fail. You can only point the finger at yourself.

The mission must be completed.

Stay focused, because you will get hit with everything that can possibly be thrown at you.

The mission must be completed.

In my profession of photography, it can be very subjective. You can create, post to social media, rinse and repeat. In my case, I wish for my creativity to live farther and longer than I ever could. It is no longer enough for me just to get the “thumbs up”, even though it is a good thing to be acknowledged in that format. I want to do everything that I possibly can to be remembered in a museum, on film, in video, whatever. When you start thinking about your legacy, you should begin to think differently and reverse engineer how you see your life, going forward.

One of the main individuals that I look up to in the creative spectrum is Gordon Parks. He wrote 20 books, made 11 movies, scored 5 films and even had 13 orchestral works in his awesome lifetime. One of the great films in his portfolio is Shaft (synonymous with my life because of the theme song that went number 1 on the exact day I was born in 1971). That film, to me, is what solidified his immortality because creating a hero for the people in a time where not many existed.

As I continue with the constant reinvention on my life and my endeavors, I look forward to how I will be remembered and how I hope affect the world in the most positive of ways to attain immortality in one form or many.

I hope that you are, too. Do not just pass through here.

Everything under the sun that can go on, has. But under no circumstance should you ever consider giving up on your dreams. It is your birthright to battle for all that you believe is yours. Yes, it will get hard. Yes, there will be loss. Yes, plans will change. But do not ever think that you don’t have a chance. Because you know what’s waiting if you DON’T see them through.

That heartbreak of regret, like i saw in my fathers eyes in August 2009, because he knew had a lot of life left before he passed away in November of the same year.

That cold stare into the mirror, and the only reflection you see is one of “i wish.”

No matter what. Please, do yourself a favor and fight for all your dreams.

Your legacy will thank you.

And then, all of a sudden, one day, they couldn’t.

Then, they are the most unreliable, can’t get it done, miserable individual on planet Earth. But the thing is, you’ve done the same, too. You’ve misfired, come up short (or half of short), couldn’t help, support, or anything else. Truth of the matter, is that it’s ok.

Don’t jump the gun because you think that somebody’s not gonna come through for you when it is all that they have done.

From time to time, I’ll head down to the skate park here in Louisville. Just to see if i can catch some action shots and the like. I saw something different today than i saw the last few times I had been. I noticed a lot more guys out there that had some grey hairs on them. I noticed them doing tricks like the younger kids out there. Then, it dawned on me.

In the skate park, you catch more bruises than a few, attempting certain moves over and over.

In the skate park, you may leave having conquered a move, or you may leave with a broken arm.

In the skate park, you may get some big air or you may miss that landing. And get hurt.

But they kept going. Not stopping. They fell off. But they got up. They kept trying.

Sometimes, you gotta risk it like a skater.

I look at some of those memories now and the work i do compared to them is different in many ways. However i see it differently now because my eyes shoot what my heart sees, no matter the subject. That’s my distinction in this game and how my aesthetic will endure the rest of time.