Picture Worthy Day Mail Bag

by Dave - Chief Life Enthusiast on July 31, 2010

Thought I’d share an email I got from a Picture Worthy Day’er. Julie saw one of my presentations and immediately told me she was going to get started. Here’s a follow up.

Dave,

I want to thank you for your inspiration! Doing the Picture Worthy Days in June was a blast!!! It bled into my family in ways you cannot imagine! My girls were actually into it and helped me find different things to do. For example, my 11 year old was going to a ropes camp and on the preview day she said to me, “Mom, why don’t you come and ride the big zip line with me for your picture today?!” On a normal day, I wouldn’t have EVER done that. I was scared until the moment I took off, BUT we did it!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!! And something she or I will never forget!!!!

My 7 year old was creating pictures of her own! She came to me one day and said, “Mom, you have got to come down to the pool! I can swim a lap!!! I am only 7 Mom and I can swim a lap!!! THAT IS PICTURE WORTHY!!!” Her exact words!!! J

As a family, we went out on the 7th to pick up trash. We were doing “ 7 Up on the 7th” that [name deleted] started. We have a picture with all of us with our gloves and our bags of trash. Not a single one complained!! That is saying a lot with a 17 year old!! Her friend actually came out to take our picture!!

I made monumental fitness goal strides that month too!!! Remember that I told you that my first picture was running a mile straight?? Well, another day was running 2 miles. Another day was running 3 miles. And ultimately before the end of the month, I ran my first 5K ever while we were on vacation in Hawaii!!! I want you to know that I would have NEVER done it without having heard you speak and having been so inspired to do more, to reach out, to challenge myself. I just wouldn’t have. Thank you so very much!!! From the bottom of my heart, sincerely, THANK YOU!!!

I look forward to this year because I think that regardless of if a do a picture daily, the Picture Worthy June I had changed my attitude, my drive, my life!!! As I said, I still seek ways to challenge myself and challenge my children to be more, do more and most importantly, live more! J

Thanks again!
My very best,
Julie

 

One of the interesting things I hear about is not just the intended affects of the program, but the unintended. That’s the real magic. It’s all about stepping out of your box and really seeing what’s out there when you seek to do more. I spoke with Julie by phone afterwards and she told me how incredibly supportive her husband was, always asking what the days picture was, what was planned for the days ahead, etc.

Thanks Julie for the great email. I loved reading about the tangential affects the program had with your family as well – and that was all after just one month, imagine the impact this will have after a whole year!

-Dave

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Have you seen the movie Valentino?

by Dave - Chief Life Enthusiast on June 7, 2010

If you want one of your Picture Worthy Day pictures to include learning from a great documentary about one person’s relentless pursuit of passion, look no further than the movie Valentino. Valentino’s passion is so overwhelming that it overpowers every character, scene, and haute couture dress in the movie.

Where does such a passion come from?  I always believed you’re born with it, but it gets diluted daily as we make choices for ourselves that conform to what others ask of us. What makes Valentino different is that when others asked for something of Valentino that was outside his passion, he did not answer, not even for a moment. Realizing that your own pursuit of passion has been forgotten is bad, but forgetting what your passion was in the first place is far worse. Whether you’ve been putting off your passion, or have forgotten what it was altogether, Valentino, the movie, will be a great reminder of what happens when you live your life following that passion which will power and empower you most.

As an aside, one of my favorite scenes was when the CEO for the buyer of Valentino’s company, Matteo Marzatto from the Marzatto group, suggested that they needed to start grooming a replacement for Valentino for when he retires. He mentions that, among other things, they must always keep their eye on what their customer is asking for. I thought this was such a sharp contrast to what made Valentino such a success. I don’t think, for a single moment, Valentino ever tried to figure out what his customers were asking for – Valentino made Valentino by whatever vision Valentino had at the time. It was a vision that was proven and time honored and his customers either subscribed to it, or would come to understand.

I also loved whenever Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino’s longtime partner in business and life,  would get acknowledgement for his contributions to Valentino – the company. Valentino, the man, may have had a vision and been a great artist and designer, but Giancarlo made that talent and passion into something Valentino could build a lifelong pursuit from. Watching the movie, I don’t think the substantial impact of Giancarlo’s contributions is a viewpoint anyone disagrees with.

The bonus features are great too!

Valentino – The Movie – Offical Homepage

Best to all,
Dave

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Not All Pictures Say a Thousand Words

May 5, 2010

The first challenge people bump up against is within the first 14 days. It’s the realization that you may not have something picture worthy going on every day. I have seen this happen to everyone, so be prepared for it. Sometime it can be upsetting to think you don’t have much going on, but that [...]

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Getting In Shape – Picture Worthy Day – March 30

April 10, 2010

Thanks to Picture Worthy Day again for one of my biggest changes of the year, getting back into shape. Prior to the last few years I was always in pretty good shape, even excellent shape at one point, as one of my pics below show. But a lot has happened since then. All good stuff…getting married, moving a couple times, a new job and [...]

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The Blog is Now Up and First Round of News

February 15, 2010

The blog is now up at PictureWorthyDayBlog.com.

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