Short first-person reflection by photographer Carl Studna about his early-career mistake: trying to 'fit in' strategically caused stress and hindered authenticity. He now frames success as recognizing and embodying his own fit—if a situation isn't right, he's not meant to be there; if it is, things flow naturally.
I'm Carl Studna. My website is carlstudna.com, c a r L S T U D N a dot com. And I suppose the biggest mistake that I see that I made was in my early 20s, when I was first starting my photography career. And I was spending so much time in worry and stress, feeling like I had to put a lot of fitting in into thinking about how I could strategically make my business a success. And it caused me so much stress and concern. And I see now that through my wisdom and through growing in my life that it's not about trying to fit in, it's about recognizing who I am and that I am the fit. So that wherever I go, I show up and I am the fit. And that way there's no stress, there's no worry, there's no concern. Because if it's not right, I'm not meant to be there. And if it's right, then everything's in flow and everything's a success.
