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How Your Biggest Insecurity Just Might Be Your Greatest Hidden Strength

Turning Your Weakness into Your Greatest Hidden Strength
We're Amy & Jordan
We're here to help you take amazing photos, build a successful business and live a beautiful life. We're high school sweethearts, parents of three and teachers at heart. 
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The one thing you think is holding you back just might be your greatest hidden strength… in disguise. 

Can we be honest with you? For a long time, we were embarrassed. Because before we were full-time wedding photographers, we were full-time elementary school teachers. Who, as much as possible, tried to avoid talking about the fact that we were full-time elementary school teachers. And here’s the thing: we loved what we were doing in the classroom. Those kids were so precious to us, and teaching them was truly an honor.

So why didn’t we ever want to talk about it online? It’s simple, really. We didn’t want our clients to know that we had another job. It’s not that we hid it. We never lied about it. If they asked if we did photography full time, we always told them. But we also never marched around announcing it either. At that time, in our mind, we assumed that our clients would trust us less and think less of us as professionals (if they’d think of us as professionals at all) once they found out we had day jobs.

Was it good business? Maybe.

Would we do it differently if we could do it again? Probably not.

Would we change our heart about it? Absolutely.

Because there were moments along the way where we wished we were “there” already. Full-time wedding photographers. And every minute that we wished we had already moved on from those jobs, we weren’t present in the moment — and we missed what that moment, in that season of life, had to offer. Because each one does. God doesn’t waste any season of our life.

Someone really wise told us recently that looking at life as a series of seasons was hard for him. Because seasons seem long, cold, never ending, and slowly changing. Do you ever feel like that? Maybe you’re in one right now. That was hard for us, too, which is why his outlook helped us (and helps us) so much. Instead, he looks at life as a series of assignments. Assignments, he explained, feel more manageable. More attainable. Like something you have the chance to do. Not something you just get through.

We grabbed that idea and ran with it. Held it close. Made it our own. Because we realized that each assignment in life has two purposes: for us to help others, and for God to teach us about ourselves and about the world along the way.

And we don’t get to move on until both are complete.

As fourth and fifth grade teachers, that assignment meant giving everything we had to the kids in our class — and trusting that God’s timing would be perfect timing. And, for us, it was. We didn’t understand it as first. We fought it. We wrestled with it. We tried to rationalize and reason with it. We tried to negotiate our way out of it. But there we stayed. In our classroom. The day job that we thought was our weakness.

And, back then, we could’ve given you 101 reasons why what we were doing in the present didn’t translate to the future. After all, what does teaching long division, covering recess, and chaperoning field trips have to do with what we do today?

Everything.

We can see it now.

As teachers, we actually used to send out mandatory “Classroom Update” emails to our parents every Monday morning. We must’ve gotten used to it, because now we email free photo tips and business advice to photographers every week.

Back then, we had to plan 20 hours of curriculum every week for our students.

Today, we still build curriculum (lots of it). We just teach online classes and courses for photographers instead.

Back then, we had to stand up in front of a roomful of (little) people and public speak. Every day.

Now, we speak to roomfuls of (bigger) people about business, photography and a whole lot more. A lot of times, using stories from our time with those little people to help the grown-up ones. Even though we couldn’t always see what God was doing, we realized we can look back on so many defining moments in our lives that have led up to where we are now and see exactly what He was training us for.

The list goes on and on, but the point remains: the thing we thought was our greatest weakness (at the time) has become our greatest hidden strength in due time. Our biggest regret? That we didn’t see at the time.

One of our favorite books, David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell is about just that. (Click here to see our One-Year Reading Plan for Photographers.) That the thing the world sees as our greatest weaknesses can actually be our greatest hidden strength. But in that moment of what we perceive as weakness, it doesn’t always feel like that.

Can you relate to that? If so, wherever you are, however you’re doing, whatever assignment in life God’s got you working on now, we encourage you to learn from our mistake. Take a minute. Take a moment. And ask yourself two questions about today that we wished we would’ve asked ourselves sooner: Who am I supposed to help? And what am I supposed to learn from it? 

If you’re anything like us, you just might find that whatever you think is a weakness, is really just hidden strength for life’s next act. In disguise.

So tell us, what’s your hidden strength?

 

meet us

Amy & Jordan

We're high school sweethearts who had no formal training in photography, but went from being elementary school teachers to making six figures as full-time photographers. We're teachers at heart (with over 30,000 online course students) and are here to help YOU take amazing photos, build a thriving business and live a beautiful life. As parents to three littles, we're all about making every minute count and love to share what we're learning along the way. We're so glad you're here!
 

Hey friend! we're

meet us

Amy & Jordan

We're high school sweethearts who had no formal training in photography, but went from being elementary school teachers to making six figures as full-time photographers. We're teachers at heart (with over 30,000 online course students) and are here to help YOU take amazing photos, build a thriving business and live a beautiful life. As parents to three littles, we're all about making every minute count and love to share what we're learning along the way. We're so glad you're here!
 

Hey friend! we're

meet us

Amy & Jordan

We're high school sweethearts who had no formal training in photography, but went from being elementary school teachers to making six figures as full-time photographers. We're teachers at heart (with over 30,000 online course students) and are here to help YOU take amazing photos, build a thriving business and live a beautiful life. As parents to three littles, we're all about making every minute count and love to share what we're learning along the way. We're so glad you're here!
 

Hey friend! we're

meet us

Amy & Jordan

We're high school sweethearts who had no formal training in photography, but went from being elementary school teachers to making six figures as full-time photographers. We're teachers at heart (with over 30,000 online course students) and are here to help YOU take amazing photos, build a thriving business and live a beautiful life. As parents to three littles, we're all about making every minute count and love to share what we're learning along the way. We're so glad you're here!
 

Hey friend! we're

meet us

Amy & Jordan

We're high school sweethearts who had no formal training in photography, but went from being elementary school teachers to making six figures as full-time photographers. We're teachers at heart (with over 30,000 online course students) and are here to help YOU take amazing photos, build a thriving business and live a beautiful life. As parents to three littles, we're all about making every minute count and love to share what we're learning along the way. We're so glad you're here!
 

Hey friend! we're

meet us

Amy & Jordan

We're high school sweethearts who had no formal training in photography, but went from being elementary school teachers to making six figures as full-time photographers. We're teachers at heart (with over 30,000 online course students) and are here to help YOU take amazing photos, build a thriving business and live a beautiful life. As parents to three littles, we're all about making every minute count and love to share what we're learning along the way. We're so glad you're here!
 

Hey friend! we're

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In this FREE online class, we'll show you three major photo mistakes (and how to fix them) so you can take beautiful photos with whatever camera you have! No prior experience required!

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FREE ONLINE PHOTO CLASS

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@amy_demos

don't miss it!

In this FREE online class, we'll show you three major photo mistakes (and how to easily fix them) so you can take beautiful photos with whatever camera you have! No prior experience required! 

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FREE ONLINE PHOTO CLASS

3 MaJOR PHOTO MISTAKES

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Don't take another photo without learning the most common photo mistakes most people make (and how to fix them fast!) Get our secrets for amazing pics no matter what camera you have in this online photography training for FREE! No experience required!