Inspirational Quotographs

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it

by Israel · Sep 21, 2014

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward

Yesterday was the Best. Birthday. Ever.

Starting with getting jumped on by my kids at 6am, we had pancakes/crepes for brekky while watching cartoons. We went down to Maroubra beach, where I had a great surf and a great skate – reliving my youth – before popping over to the local shopping centre for a kebab lunch. i even took some kohls promo codes with me so I could get some great deals hile I was out. After a brief afternoon snooze, I shot a family portrait*, had cake with my wife and kids, and the had a surprise party in the city with all my best mates and their partners. It was AMAZING.

I owe enormous gratitude to my wife who made it all happen. Thankyou, my darling Bel. You made my 37th birthday one I will never forget.

To everyone who sent me messages, my most humble thanks. It was an amazing day filled with love and joy and fantastic experiences.

With much love and gratitude,
Israel. xo

* I recently made a rule of never working / going to school on birthdays, but this shoot was booked before I realised I hadn’t ruled out the whole day for work. It was a great fun shoot anyway :)

Today you are you!

by Israel · Sep 20, 2014

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” – Dr Seuss

Milestones are a beautiful thing.

Today marks two significant ones: my 37th birthday, and the 600th IQ I’ve published!

Amazing, eh?

To celebrate my birthday and this milestone, I’m offering a sale of 37% off all my IQ and Art Prints in my Online Gallery Store. To take advantage of this, just use coupon code ISRAEL37 at checkout and it will automatically apply to the products in your shopping cart!

NOTE: I only have the first 360-ish IQs online in the gallery store, but I can easily make prints of ANY of them. To order an IQ print that *isn’t* in the store, just email me with the quote / link to the IQ and I’ll be able to set it up as a product for you to purchase. Click here to view the Online Gallery Store, and click here to view the archives of my IQs.

Have a fabulous September 20th, and I’ll see you again tomorrow!

With much love,
Israel. xo

Know what you stand for

by Israel · Sep 19, 2014

“Know what you stand for.”

Once upon a time, a photographer ordered a rush canvas for a dear friend and clients’ second wedding anniversary (cotton).

The canvas, being shipped early, arrived early, and with much excitement, the photographer took up a blade, and cleft the packaging in twain.

And lo! It was not good.

For, being a low-lit image upon the steps of the House of Opera, it was too dark. The figures looked like silhouettes, the sails looked like mud, and the overall mood was far too sombre.

And the photographer did curse and wail, for he knew the date of the anniversary, and it was nigh.

He called the craftsman with much anger, and did challenge him. The craftsman was polite, calm, and resolute. The photographer gave up, and resolved to give the canvas to his clients, despite it not being his best work.

He lay down to sleep, with much consternation in his mind.

Upon waking, our photographer did look, and think, and calmly call the canvas supplier, asking if a miracle could be obtained. Could a new canvas be made and delivered in time?

“Yes.”

And there was rejoicing of the highest order. And the photographer could keep his integrity as an artist, and the client and friend would be happier and more satisfied on their anniversary.

The key message here, is that the photographer (duh – me) wasn’t prepared to lower his standards.

I stand for the best quality, with no compromise. I stand for treating my clients like gold. I stand for doing my best.

Do I always get there? No.

But I always strive.

Had I given up, I would have given up on my integrity and my standards, and that is something that would be unforgivable to myself.

What do you stand for? Do you know? Might be worth knowing, otherwise, when things get busy / tough, you’ll fall over at the slightest touch for the easy path.

With love,
Israel. xo

Do you give serendipity a chance in your world?

by Israel · Sep 18, 2014

“Do you give serendipity a chance in your world? Do you dance with chance?” – Nick Kellet

A question, instead of a statement. Something to ponder.

I am going to meet Nick well outside my comfort zone this morning at a Sydney Tech Startup Meetup at Fishburners. My trip to meet him is based solely on the strength of two things: a recommendation from Jane – a Misfit friend of mine from Canada, and Nick’s tweet last night:

Do you give serendipity a chance in your world? Do you dance with chance?

— Nick Kellet (@NickKellet) September 17, 2014

Today, ask yourself the same questions. How would the world look if you danced with chance a little more?

With love,
Israel. xo

When you find yourself on the side of the majority

by Israel · Sep 17, 2014

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain

It sounds trite – as some of Mr Twain’s quotes can – but the deeper message here, for me at least, is to reflect when you find yourself marching to the same drum as everyone else.

Not that it’s a bad thing to march to the same drum. Great music, for example, touches many people.

I think it’s more about intention. When you are being intentional, and still find yourself on the same path, then great. But if you are simply getting carried with the tide, maybe time to pause and reflect.

Have a great day!

With love,
Israel. xo

You must not lose faith in humanity

by Israel · Sep 16, 2014

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Today was such a mixed bag.

Some successes. Some failures. Some moments of “No, seriously?! Oh come ON.” and some moments of “YEAH!”

Highlights:

Fixing my Lexmark printer with some logic, a screwdriver, and a little faith in my own ability with said screwdriver;
Doing an interview with Bel, hosted by the exuberant DJ Paine (also a reader of my IQs) for his Black Market Network podcast.
Being told by DJ that another photographer had referred to me as “isn’t he that depression photographer?!”

Lowlights:

My mood taking a turn after only two slices of bread yesterday with lunch. I woke up foggy and grumpy. Ugh.
My son still being a bit sick and whingey after his Measles last week.
Parental guilt at not playing with him as often as he asks me. (Sadly, I DO have to work sometimes… tell that to my 4yo son…)
Losing Bel’s iPhone at the shopping centre today at lunch.

And now, the crowning achievement – the “HELL YEAH!” moment – that has left me emotionally drained, and in a post-adrenaline coma-like trance:

After discovering the “Find My Phone” app on my iPhone, I was able to remotely put Bel’s phone into “lost mode”, meaning that it locked up and displayed a message on the front saying “Hey! This phone is lost. Please call me on xxxx xxx xxx.”

I even added: “Reward offered.”

After almost an hour of looking, retracing our steps, asking shop owners, and all-but-giving-up … we drove away from the shopping centre. Half way home my phone rang, from Bel’s lost phone.

HELL YEAH!

I negotiated where to meet, we drove furiously back to the shops, and I sprinted – like, really sprinted – back to the agreed meeting point. The young school-aged guy said his Mum had found the phone. I offered him a reward of some cashola from the nearest ATM, to which he politely declined.

Faith in humanity = restored.

Aside: I am SO glad it’s my birthday later this week, as I’ll be getting some new Vibrams (my toes have worn through my current pair) so I can go for a run without taking layers of skin off my toes. My body literally SOARED when I started sprinting. Even though I was in jeans and flip-flops/thongs. I felt ALIVE. More of that, please.

With love,
Israel. xo

PS Sorry today’s is late. I blame gluten. Sh!tty stuff.

Stand up to your obstacles

by Israel · Sep 15, 2014

“Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.” – Norman Vincent Peale

Today is a significant day in the building of our bus. I am visiting the bus builder guy, after countless delays and hiccups, to determine how his progress is going and – with Bel – determine the future of the project with him at the helm.

It has been weighing on my mind a lot in recent days. I am unsure how to proceed – so much hinges on what I see when I arrive in Heatherbrae. I will have to work with Bel and improvise a solution.

And so, we stand up to our obstacles and do something about them.

Wish me luck.

With love,
Israel. xo

The cure for anything is salt water

by Israel · Sep 14, 2014

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.” – Isak Dinesen

This guy is a man after my own heart. I LOVE this quote. I had it sent to me recently by a friend (I can’t remember who – I’m so sorry!) but it immediately resonated.

Then, this morning, as I contemplated the improving health of my son (finally) I thought I’d look up quotes that contained the word ‘cure’. You can look from this specific agency to learn more.

Bingo.

My favourite quote in a long time, and very, VERY resonant for me.

Have a fabulous Sunday!

With love,
Israel. xo

I continue to be drawn to clarity and simplicity.

by Israel · Sep 13, 2014

“I continue to be drawn to clarity and simplicity. ‘Less is more’ remains my mantra.” – Stephane Rolland

Let’s just leave it at that. ;)

With love,
Israel. xo

I told you that we could fly

by Israel · Sep 12, 2014

“I told you
That we could fly
‘Cause we all have wings
But some of us don’t know why”
– Michael Hutchence

Taken from this song – and yet, an amazing thought in itself.

We DO all have wings. I experienced a brief feeling of this weightlessness, a glimmer of lift-off, earlier today.

I owe an enormous thankyou to Becky – a previous client and one of my lovely readers – for putting yesterday’s IQ in the inboxes of the team from R U OK? Day.

Late today I received a phone call from the R U OK? campaign manager, who asked my permission to post the image and a quote from my essay on their Facebook page. Of course I agreed, and what I have subsequently witnessed is both amazing and humbling, and feels a little like flying.

In the space of 3 hours (as of this writing) the photo and quote has received over 1765 Likes, has been Shared over 730 times, and has generated an enormous amount of conversation in the comments. My website has broken once or twice from the volume of traffic – currently sitting at 400% my average daily views, and climbing by the hour – and I feel this might be what it feels like for a post to go “viral”.

(The post is here.)

This experience is not unlike one I had a week or so back. In the lead-up to Father’s Day, I was approached by PANDA – Post and AnteNatal Depression Association – about sharing my story more widely with their audience, especially as it relates to my depression, and how that coincided with the birth of my second child, my son. Again, I felt amazingly excited, and very humbled.

The ironic thing about all of this is how much energy I get from talking about and working with people about depression and mental illness. I draw strength from sharing my story, and find that each time I come clean about my own depression, it lessens its hold on me and gives me more power over it. I also draw strength and energy from knowing I’m making a difference for people – that by sharing my story, they might find courage or comfort in their own lives, and go on to improve things ever so slightly in their world.

Just yesterday I was listening to a podcast called Invisible Office Hours (utterly awesome) hosted by a dear friend of mine – Jason SurfApp – and another awesome friend called Paul Jarvis. In their most recent episode about Writing, Jason said: “Taking action is my superpower.” It got me thinking about my own superpowers. (It also got me thinking about writing. Like, seriously. Writing a book. An actual book. With pages and stuff.)

I would have to say that talking about my own struggles, openly and vulnerably, and in a way that inspires and gives courage to others, is one of my superpowers. (Of course I have more than one superpower. Doesn’t everyone? ;) )

Which brings me full circle. This whole set of experiences – PANDA contacting me, getting wildly re-shared via R U OK? Day, listening to a great podcast about writing, and finally thinking about my own superpowers – has drawn a few threads together.

It has shown me that I draw LOTS of energy from discussions with people about improving their lives and overcoming or managing depression and other challenges. It has also shown me that I have a way of articulating my own life lessons, in an accessible and relatable way that makes an impact on people. Lastly, it has kicked my butt about something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.

So I’m putting this out there for you, my dear reader: I want to take this experience as motivation to finally write a book. Yes. One with pages.

The thing is, I haven’t quite nailed the concept yet, and I could use some help in fine-tuning the ideas. Can I ask a couple of quick questions?

1) What other superpowers do you think I have that could be used for the power of GOOD?

2) What topics have I written about that really resonate with you, and that you’d like to hear more about?

3) What kind of book would be helpful to you? I’m thinking something along the lines of “living a great life, managing depression, and being the best you that you can be” – but I’d love your suggestions.

If you would be so kind to drop me an email at israel@israelsmith.com with your answers to the above, or any other feedback you think I could use, I would be eternally grateful. Please rest assured all information you share will be kept strictly confidential.

Ahhh. Time to sign off and rest.

Have a great day, embrace your superpowers, and thankyou for being here.

With love,
Israel. xo

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