Scott Kelby teaching at the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference.

Galatians 5:19-21
19 The acts of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. As I did before, I warn you that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Let me start today with a confession. I just spent the past five days with some incredible photographers, and I was very jealous of their work and careers.

While I applauded their presentations and was really impressed with their work, I was also measuring myself against them. I confessed to some of my friends how I was feeling, only to discover that they, too, were having similar thoughts.

How do we deal with these feelings?

First, we must acknowledge talented photographers and tell them we admire them. This is often the first step to dealing with jealousy.

I have not only admired photographers in the past, but I have also done everything to copy their work. I bought the same gear and even started to dress like them. I think that early in our careers, it is good to try and copy someone else’s work. This is how we learn. The problem is that when we only copy, we do not use the process to help us find our own voice.

At this conference, Scott Kelby gave us tips on using the Raw plugin. For much of the session, we were learning how to use Lightroom effectively. I was just thinking, “I do that.” I started to think I should be up there teaching this material.

I needed to celebrate Scott Kelby’s effectiveness at teaching. His ability to distill the subject into nuggets and interject humor made everything much more memorable than how I often teach. I need to work on my teaching. Please do not copy what Scott does; learn from him and make it my own.

Jeremy Cowart spoke to the group as well. He is a celebrity photographer who gives back through Help-Portrait (http://help-portrait.com), a non-profit he started. I was jealous of his opportunities and envious of his life. Maybe I should dress like him, which went through my head. That would look pretty funny. I need to tell Jeremy how much I like his work and am impressed with how he carries himself. I need to learn from him and realize I need to be even more professional than I am now.

Esther Havens was at the conference, and I am jealous of her work with Living Waters (http://estherhavens.com/blog/archives/1109). What I am learning from Esther is that if I have an idea, I can do it—just do it. She is very impressive. She is helping me realize that opportunities for all of us are right before us—what is stopping us other than ourselves?

Bill Bangham, Garrett Hubbard, and Gary Fong were also there, and I am jealous of them as well. Each of them does incredible work. What I am learning is not to copy them but to understand why they are successful.

Take the time today to write to people that you are jealous of their work and tell them how much you admire their work. See what you can learn from them. Don’t try to become them, but see how their actions can inspire you to take action.

What I have learned from this past week is that each of us has unique qualities. We will be more successful if we play to our strengths rather than copying others. I recommend Tom Rath’s book Strengths Finder (http://www.amazon.com/StrengthsFinder-2-0-Tom-Rath/dp/159562015X) as one way to start this journey if you need help.