Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Day 10: Just do it.


Four months have gone by without noticing it. BUT I'll be back on track with my ABC's! Still many more letters to go and some cool quotes coming. I'm going to be in Estonia for a few weeks - hopefully I'll have enough time to get my photos sorted. :)


J
Just do it.

What a cliché! I really ask myself why is this "slogan" in this alphabet because it's so overused by Nike. I think people have forgotten that those words even mean something! I'll give a try to make them count.

As an artist, I tend to procrastinate tasks. It's not because I'm lazy but it's more because I'm always "waiting" for the right feeling, flow or emotion to come to get the best results out of my work. This is the artistic soul that just works like a wind - changes all the time and sometimes pretty drastically. It wasn't easy for me to understand it but after accepting it, I've learnt to live with it.

To begin with, things just don't happen itself. If you're patient and wait long enough, nothing will happen. So that's why I just started to tell myself: "Mariell, just do it!". Even if I'm not in the mood to do paperwork, retouch photos, do emails, cook or simply notice that my ToDo list is not getting shorter, I just need to begin from somewhere. Like this, things get done and get done faster!

However, this quote doesn't work in every case. For example in snowboarding, if someone want's to jump a big kicker first time in his life, you can't say: "Hey, just do it!". Neither when somebody tells you about her dream to become a successful entrepreneur... Succeeding in something requires knowledge and experience - some things doesn't happen over night. It's a process and "Just do it" could play a trigger-role in it but in the end the success takes time.

Lastly, it's never too bad to motivate yourself with those words. Still, think before you say it to somebody to encourage him/her into doing something. Nobody likes the feeling being under pressure.

***

First shooting last winter was at Caumasee with Stefanie. As she's sponsored by Dakine she got a jacket that looked cool on streets and also on the mountain. We had 2 outfits to show. Unfortunately last year in December there was almost no snow and the winter-version looks kinda awkward... Have a look! I post the black and white version of our shooting. Also because I wanna show that Cauma lake looks fantastic without colours, too!

Friday, January 16, 2015

Day 9: Ignore those who try to discourage you.

I guess everyone has experienced a moment in their lives when you have a dream or idea but as soon as you tell about it to others, they start hating on it or just convincing you how bad idea it is and why it wouldn't work out. But you know what, ignore them! However, be polite and listen to their opinions but in the end stay true to your vision. These are your dream, not theirs. It's your life and as a grown up person you should be able to make decisions on your own. In the end you're responsible for your life and actions and if your dreams fail, you can only blame yourself.

With this topic it's also important to understand why are there those people who are trying to discourage you from pursuing your dreams?

I guess some are for sure jealous - they've failed or abandoned dreams and they don’t want to know that they’ve walked away from something that could’ve changed their lives. But more to the core, they don’t want you to succeed when they themselves have failed. Therefore, if it comes to the family members, I would translate it more as "protection" - protection you from making the same mistakes what your parents did in their early lives. You know, they put you into music school to learn to play the piano because they regret their past of quitting it?

Then there are people who just aren't well informed. Obviously you get the whole picture of your dream better than any other person so it's a lot of work to explain all the details to a person who just don't get it ...or don't want to get it. For example you're dreaming about having your own computer game company but your granny just can't get it because she has never played a computer game in her life. Hope you get what I mean! Just be picky with people you share your dreams in order to avoid negative emotions. Find the people who have similar views on the topic and I'm sure discussing your plans with those people help you to move forward instead of wasting time on unneeded conversations.


***
Severin Van Der Meer
Caumasee
17/09/14

Severin is really talented Swiss wakeboarder but also killing it on snow! Good skills and great style. He happened to be in Laax last autumn so we had a spontaneous lifestyle shooting at Caumasee. Did a bit different colour grading this time. Kinda like this look. Gives a retro feeling.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Day 8: Hang on to your dreams.

A: "I have a dream."
B: "What is your dream?"
A: "To have a dream!"

...So I hope you all have some bigger dream than just dreaming about having one. Dreaming is something we all do, some more, some less. Honestly, I dream a lot. I like to visualise how things could be and what could happen. I don't think it's a bad thing. It's actually pretty entertaining when you're bored. I've done it since I was little because back then I couldn't fall asleep. Then I built a house in my head and started to live in it and "played" in this home until I fell asleep... And continued the next day. Pretty funny.

These days I don't live in illusional houses anymore. I'm more daydreaming about projects I wanna do or wonder how I could live my life better. However, I've noticed that there are a lot of dreams that I should keep to myself. People often misunderstand the difference between DREAMS and GOALS and may start thinking that you just give empty promises, just talk talk talk and in the end do nothing. Dreams are not goals. DREAMS can be anything. They don't have to have a timeline or even really be achievable. They're sometimes not realistic either, like a fantasy. GOALS are Specific, Measurable, Achievable , Realistic, Timely.

And lastly, I think once you have a dream, it means that unconsciously you're already working on it. It's because deep in your heart it's something you really wish for. So even if your dream seems to be unachievable now, don't kick it out of your head. Stick to it. The bigger the dream, the harder you work. So keep dreaming!

***

Last summer I was shooting a skate tour. It took place in different skateparks across Switzerland and the aim was to coach little skaters and find the future talents. It was really awesome to work with kids! So much positivity and happy emotions. I got to shoot St. Gallen stop and the finals in Zürich...

H
Hang on to your dreams.

Tour de Talent @freestyle.ch
Summer/Autumn 2014
St Gallen/Zürich

Domenic Hänni
Jonny Giger
Jimmy van Genabith
Kids

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