I finally have time to write about the incredible Free To Succeed Tour that I attended here in Austin, TX.  To start out, if I had to choose one word to describe how I felt after attending the tour, that one word would be “humbled.”  When I first met and introduced myself to David Jay and Jasmine Star, I was humbled by their down-to-earth, generous personalities.  I felt how genuinely excited and happy both of them were to be here to meet and share themselves and their knowledge to everyone.  I mean it was ten minutes till start time and they were still walking around the room introducing themselves to everyone and happily answering a barrage of questions, from ‘what got you into photography’ to ‘how do you like Austin, TX’ to ‘will you take a picture with me.’

I was further humbled by what they had to say during the workshop. David Jay connected with everyone from the get-go, he was personable, he was more than eager to tell us the mistakes he made in the photography business, and he was not embarrassed to show us his not-so-great photos.  David Jay literally opened himself up to share everything he had to offer to everyone.  The one thing that I noticed during the class was just how much David Jay really enjoyed what he does and I am not talking about photography, I am talking about really helping other people get to where he is at today or to experience what he experiencing.  I have so much to learn from David and if I took away anything from the tour that would be helping others will get you further in life.

Jasmine Star, where do I begin.  As beautiful as she is on her blog, she was even more beautiful in person and even more beautiful because of her personality and what she had to offer to the class.  She talked about how she began photography, the obstacles she faced, what inspires her and what makes her who she is.  There were moments when Jasmine was speaking that she got emotional and moved everyone.  I looked around hardly anyone was writing notes because everyone wanted to hear and take in everything Jasmine had to say.  After the class was over, I had the pleasure of talking to Jasmine and she apologized to me for talking a million miles per minute, but that just tells me that she truly wanted to share with everyone everything she had experienced as a photographer and in her life and there was not enough time to say it all.  What you read on her blog is what you get when you meet her in person. She is amazing and she keeps it real (K.I.R).

I can’t tell you how much I learned from both David Jay and Jasmine Star.  Their helpfulness and personalities were key to their success and that was what I really think they wanted us to learn from the tour. I am telling you that if you have the opportunity to go the Free to Succeed Tour, go!  We had someone drive all the way from Mexico to attend this tour and I am sure that person did not go home empty handed.  This tour is well worth giving up four hours of your life to listen and just be inspired.  So please go to Free To Succeed and sign up, you won’t be disappointed.

I also want to give a shout out to Chasity, Erika, Jen, Jenny, Ashley, Gina, Eva and Grace who I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to at the tour.  You guys are great and we should definitely meet up soon.

For more updates and pictures of the tour, please visit David Jay, Jasmine Star and Kenny Kim’s blogs [ DJ | JS | KK ].  Take care.

↑ Up Top | Filed under: Personal, Workshops | 5 Comments »