“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up again” – Vince Lombardi

Being 22 and on my own for the first time – this is the first chance I’ve had to really feel any sort of impact on my life due to the economy. It’s the first time I’ve had friends lose their jobs, I’ve felt the pinch when I go grocery shopping and talked with clients who are seeing their sales drop. This is just a friendly reminder that life is a rollercoaster – these ups and downs are fairly unavoidable – but they’re what keep life interesting.

The greatest failure in life is to quit trying. I couldn’t be more proud of our Fotoworks PROs who are recognizing that if they’re going to weather this storm, they can’t just sit on their laurels. I’m seeing complete overhauls in business models, a renewed interest in extreme customer service, an attempt to use new technology they haven’t before (three cheers for our older generation of photographers who are now starting to blog!), and creative outside of the box thinking.

What I hate to see is people using the economy as an excuse for them not moving forward. We all must march on no matter what life throws at us. I want to remind you that the greatest failure in life is to stop trying. It is better to fail attempting a great deed than to attempt nothing and succeed.

That is simply what tough times and challenges do to us! They make us better, wiser and more resolute to succeed.

Life is all about being knocked down but not out.