“Don’t Focus on Success, That Will Really Do You Wrong," Says 18 Year Old Photographer Olivia Bee..

The other day, I ran across an article and video interview by The Weekly Flickr, profiling 18 year old Professional Photographer, Olivia Bee.  

Wise beyond her years, Ms. Bee is living the Don’t SeekSuccess – Be Happi Model to the fullest.

While in middle school at age 11, Olivia could not get into a video production class and her school counselor placed her in a photography class instead.  “It was kind of like the best mistake that could have been made by my school counselor, because I just, like, fell in love with this art,” she says.

Olivia’s passion for photography did not come overnight, however, it took some time for her to warm up to the idea.

She says, “I was really frustrated with it,” she says. “But then, slowly I became less and less frustrated and more determined to make really nice photos.”

Lesson: Keep an open mind, you never know when a new life changing passion could be discovered.

Olivia started posting her images to Flickr.  “I just really liked to show the world what I was seeing,” Olivia says. Than something amazing happened to this young talented Photographer.  Athletic Shoe Company Converse noticed her photos on Flickr and contacted her about working on a photo shoot for them. Olivia was a freshman in High School and only 15 years old!

Watch Olivia Bee's interview;

She says, “I was a freshman in high school when Converse approached me. Their ad agency kept sending me Flickr messages, and I just kept ignoring it, (Thinking the messages were spam) and so finally, Converse emailed me directly and was like ‘Hey, this is Converse, we wanna shoot with you’ and I was like ‘Whoa, I know about Converse.”

“I was so scared, but by the end of the day, I was like, ‘You can do this for a living?!  Sign me up!” said Olivia.

Since that initial shoot with Converse, Olivia has worked for Adidas, The New York Times, Le Monde, Levi's, Subaru, and many other high profile clients.

Olivia’s advice to others;

“Don’t focus on success, that will really do you wrong. Success in terms of money and fame — that won’t mean anything. You should focus on success in terms of what you love and what makes you happy.”

To paraphrase, Dr. Victor Frankel, in his book, Man's Search for Meaning, first published over 50 years ago, says don’t aim at success because you will often miss the mark. Olivia Bee at 18 years of age seems to have grasped this concept well.

In order to be successful, to find meaning and joy in your life, follow your passion, derive your purpose, and strive for excellence. In other words, “Be Happi.” Aspire to follow the core principles of Belief, Enthusiasm, Heart, Attitude, Passion, Purpose and Imagination and success will find you!

It does not matter how old you are, what challenges you face, or what your past has been. Find your passion and you will accomplish amazing things.

Tomorrow I will profile somebody who has found their profitable passion in spite of a severe disability. Stay tuned.

Be Great!

MB