The ability to visually document our lives has never been easier – but we’re missing a wonderful opportunity. To record the usual.
Watch any motivational keynote speaker, pass a random street performing juggler, walk up to a wreck where a Smart Car jumped a curb. You’ll witness a gaggle of smart phones and cameras capturing the event. Yet, aren’t these occasions less significant than moments with those we love? Clearly deathbed confessions never include, “Man I'm glad I took video at 4,000 feet from Sunday, Bloody Sunday Bono enchanting 25,000 of my closest amigos.” We know different. Those deathbed scenarios are wrapped in treasured memories of family and friends.
Why then do we not record the usual?
Quite simply, the human condition takes everyday occurrences for granted. For this reason, consider recording the usual. The only time we normally pull out the camera is at birthday or on holidays. A scan of your photos, whether in a virtual shoebox or album, reveals irrefutable evidence; we typically only capture the unusual.
Time for a change!
Example: Our Sunday morning habits include breakfast made by Michelle. She makes bacon, eggs, biscuits and tea. On a whim, the tradition was captured on video and made into a small family vignette. Isabella (now 11) was in a highchair and learning to string words together. Alex was old enough to spread jam on her hot biscuit. Max reached the age where he was able to sit still for a whopping three minutes. Barefoot, the kids ran to the swing-set to be pushed high in the air. Later, Isabella flopped all over our forgiving six-month-old Lab. Michelle got out The New York Times. This edited video of any normal Sunday takes four minutes to watch but the experience lasts a lifetime. (Speaking of an experience lasting a lifetime - here's a motivational keynote speaker who can do the same - he may look familiar ;-)
A local business icon and owner of John’s Café is a larger than life Greek. John greets you at the order counter. He pops back in the kitchen and booms out your ticket-number when your plate is ready. He knows your name. He’s genuinely thrilled you’ve come back to his Café. Yet on your way to work, so many times before, you forget this is part of the fabric of your life. Stop. Take a picture with John. Capture the moment not because it’s unusual – but for a better, opposite reason.
Check Out, Check In, Click
Check out this list of everyday stuff. Check inside to see if you have a fond attachment to it. Put your smart camera-phone to work.
- Taking your kids to school.
- Your morning run by the lake.
- People in your lunchroom at work.
- Your favorite local grocer.
- An elderly neighbor whos lawn you've cut.
- Your living room.
- Standing by the car you drive.
- Granddad helping your daughter tie a fishing hook.
- Your spouse reading a book while curled in a chair.
It’s not about taking a picture or videotaping everything. It’s an exercise in capturing the tapestry that makes up your extraordinary life, with all the ordinary threads therein. Record the usual – Bono won’t mind.
Until next week, it’s full speed ahead,Vince
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NY Times bestselling author, Vince Poscente, is the founder of Libretto Publishing and has written five books translated into more than twenty languages. He writes about harnessing the speed of change, the way to reach BIG GOALS in less time, accelerating potential of human capital, how to get out of your own way and best of all, instant impact with lasting influence.
