First I congratulate all of you for becoming a Top Pro! I know how much dedication and perseverance it took for you to be where you are. I also know those attributes alone are not enough. You have to be good, really good, at your work. My wife Cecily and I sold everything and moved from Texas to Hawaii in 2014. I brought my 36 year reputation as a professional photographer and video producer with me but soon learned it was basically worthless. Saying you're a photographer in Hawaii was like saying you're an actor in LA. At age 55 I was starting over. To be very brief, in the past 4 years I nearly died from a bicycle accident and had my 4th back surgery last April. My wife had DBS brain surgery 10 months ago due to her inherited Cervical Dystonia and is on long term disability. (Like the joke says, "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?:) Sometimes you just have to laugh but seriously, God has brought us through as more than conquerers and we are eternally grateful. And Thumbtack, thank you for being there for me! For a long time the work you brought my way, I mean, literally put food on our table. You were and are the platform, the pulpit, and the spotlight that helps reveal to my community the gifts and talents I have to offer. Like many of you, the road less traveled really has made all the difference. There are many words we live by. One is a quote by me I wrote in my book "Who is Clay?" "It is better to fail at the extraordinary than to succeed at the ordinary because the extraordinary at it's worst is better than the ordinary at it's best." - Stephen Fanning Thank you again and if you're ever on Oahu in Hawaii say hello. For a "Hawaii fix" some of my landscape photography is on my Instagram at 4u2chawaii. God bless, Steve
... View more
