"Golf is for people who hate themselves"

Late last year I was location scouting on a golf course in Los Angeles, looking for a place to shoot a car. The guy who managed the golf course was driving me and the agency Art Buyer around the course, and the three of us were just chatting. Then the manager said one of those things I will never forget:

"Golf is for people who hate themselves."

Um, what? How is that possible I thought? I mean you gotta love golf to play it, right? So how could he be right? And yet here's a man who manages a large golf course, spends every day immersed in the sport, surrounded by the players, equipment, grounds, basically everything.

So I asked him to to explain and this was his view and here I'm paraphrasing but the gist is accurate; "Most of the people who come here will never be as good as Tiger or even be 1/4 as good, they will come back week after and every time will be an exercise in frustration, they will throw good money for newer better clubs, clothes, endless rounds of golf. They will never shoot par no matter how long they practice, how much they play. That's how I know they hate themselves."

So how is this germane to a photography blog? Am I telling you to quit shooting because you will never be as good as David Lachapelle, Chase Jarvis or dozens of other A-list photographers? No, in fact I'm saying the exact opposite. Quit the distractions. You want to make it in photography? Well, quit the Farmville, quit the Lost, quit the eBay, quit the Lottery tickets, quit your dodgeball team, whatever. You know what it is that distracts you from focusing all your energy on what matters, your portfolio. Stop it.

Take the energy and money you waste on your side hobbies and invest it all in yourself in a way that might actually pay off in more tangible ways. What I'm saying, in poker terms, if you're serious about your photography, go All-In.