How many have typed “how to unlock success” in the search bar and scrolled for answers? Maybe that very same query has brought you here. Welcome. It’s time to finally get some answers. 

First, a warning. If you are searching for success in one very small portion of your life, this could be the very stumbling block you have run up against. Laser focus on one area of success in your life will only lead to failure in most other areas of your life. In order to truly unlock success you must look at more than one area of your life. 

Second, you want first-hand experience. A person writing a parenting book without any kids makes no sense. A business book from an author who has never started and run their own business (small business or large) is nearly pointless. The same goes for advice to unlock success. There is a lot of advice to weed through. Luckily, we have a CEO with first-hand experience in unlocking success, who has also sifted through a lot of advice over the years. Without further delay, here is the CEO of Showit in his own words.

How to Unlock Succes with Showit CEO Todd Watson

Over the last few years I listened to over 70 books while training for an IRONMAN and driving our RV all over the country. Many of these books I have hard copies of, that I have read or referenced, but the following are the ten books that stood out to me and a few of the concepts that continue to shape my thinking. In addition, I looked up a few of the stand-out quotes from each book and I hope they give you a taste for the concepts within. I would recommend each of these books, the first three for business, the next three for leadership, the next three for parenting, and the last one for finance.

Small Giants by Bo Burlingham

I received this book as a gift years ago and really enjoyed it then, but after big transitions within my company, I really came to lean on it as the path toward where I want to go. It's so encouraging to see other companies that chose a path that didn't just go build a company to be big and sell, but instead focused on being a great company for their community and employees. (Definitely, a way to unlock success in your business.) I re-read it again this year and still continue to be inspired by the stories that Bo shares in this book.

“The shareholders who own the businesses in this book have other, nonfinancial priorities in addition to their financial objectives. Not that they don't want to earn a good return on their investment, but it's not their only goal, or even necessarily their paramount goal. They're also interested in being great at what they do, creating a great place to work, providing great service to customers, having great relationships with their suppliers, making great contributions to the communities they live and work in, and finding great ways to lead their lives. They've learned, moreover, that to excel in all those things, they have to keep ownership and control inside the company and, in many cases, place significant limits on how much and how fast they grow. The wealth they've created, though substantial, has been a byproduct of success in these other areas. I call them small giants.“

– Bo Burlingham, Small Giants

EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey

This is my business Bible, the source I go back to for guidance in so many areas of how to run a company. When anyone asks me how to build a company, I tell them to start here. I make it a practice to listen to it each year and my leadership team has all read it. I use many of the rhythms from this book and I can't thank Dave enough for the encouragement and challenge this book has been to our business.

“The problem with your company is not the economy, it is not the lack of opportunity, it is not your team. The problem is you. That is the bad news. The good news is, if you're the problem, you're also the solution. You're the one person you can change the easiest. You can decide to grow. Grow your abilities, your character, your education, and your capacity. You can decide who you want to be and get about the business of becoming that person.“

Dave Ramsey, EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches

The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

After EntreLeadership, “The Advantage” is next on my most influential books on how to operate a company. He cites “organizational health” as the key to success in a business and then works through the areas that create this health. Lencioni's six critical questions are the foundation of how we structure our leadership and vision communication, and what we come back to over and over in our team. Its simplicity breathes life into what could be a stale process and is also a strong reminder in the importance of communicating things over and over again. This is the third book that I “re-read” this past year but just like good communication, it takes multiple times to really sink in.

“There cannot be alignment deeper in the organization, even when employees want to cooperate, if the leaders at the top aren't in lockstep with one another.

The single greatest advantage any company can achieve is organizational health.“

Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown

So much has been said about the topic of leadership, but I loved this book for its insight on creating the type of vulnerability that creates influence. I definitely struggle in that area, so this book has been a good challenge and one I keep coming back to and thinking through the concepts. (Several ways to unlock success in Dare to Lead!) Brené includes great research and stories that help inspire change, and this was one of my favorite books of the year.

“I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.

Our ability to be daring leaders will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability.“

Brené Brown, Dare to Lead

The Power of the Other by Dr. Henry Cloud

While the concept of this book is common sense, this book put into words something that can easily be taken for granted, and then encourages you to address it and work to make a change. Simply put, other people in your life matter. It's not just about a few close friends, it's about being intentional about people in your life that are looking at areas of your life. It inspired me to get a coach to train for the IRONMAN and I experienced first hand the power of the other in the way Gabe pushed me through this year. It's worth everyone reading just to cement in our brains that we shouldn't try to go it alone, we need others in every area of our lives.

“People trying to reach goals succeed at a much greater rate if they are connected to a strong human support system.

Your own performance is either improved or diminished by the other people in your scenario.“

Dr. Henry Cloud, The Power of the Other

Can I Have Your Attention by Curt Steinhorst

I met Curt years ago when he spoke about this concept of attention and he speaks about this for huge companies across the globe. It's a major problem in a culture that has become wired for distraction and this book gives practical steps to tune things out and become Focus Wise.

“To be focus-wise is to effectively allocate our attention at a particular moment in a particular context. It's an art that emerges through careful practice, a right understanding of how our brains work, and sensitivity to the professional and personal worlds around us.“

Curt Steinhorst, Can I Have Your Attention

The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch

Families today face raising children in an environment that didn't exist when most parents were growing up. Technology is everywhere in smartphones, tablets, computers and TVs and while it seems super easy to let children use these devices, what is the long term effect? What is our role as parents in raising our children and how do we navigate this new connected world? Andy Crouch sets out to demonstrate a path that his family has taken to these challenges and address the questions parents have with an intentional approach to raising kids. (Intentioality in parenting is a key way to unlock success in your family life.) While at times I can't say that our family will be exactly like his or quite as strict as he recommends, it definitely pushed me to re-evaluate the decisions we have made and be more intentional with the technology we allow in our home and how we use it.

“I've come to the conclusion that the more you entertain children, the more bored they will get.

We only get one life to live. Wouldn't it be better spent enjoying and serving the world God made rather than a glowing screen?

So here's where we have to start if we are going to live as flourishing families in an age of easy everywhere: we are going to have to decide, together, that nothing is more important than becoming people of wisdom and courage.“

Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family

Mindset:The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

This book hits head on with a binary concept of a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. Once you understand this, you'll hear people speaking from one of these two every day. For me the understanding of the fixed mindset helps me understand the root cause of comments or thoughts that feel stuck, and how I can coach others or myself out of these contexts. Every parent should read this book simply for an understanding of how to praise children. (AKA How to help you and your kids unlock success.) While this book isn't new, I've heard a lot about it and the impact it has had on so many school systems.

“No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.

If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. That way, their children don't have to be slaves of praise. They will have a lifelong way to build and repair their own confidence.“

Carol Dweck, Mindset:The New Psychology of Success

How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims

Parenting has shifted so much in the last century and often times it doesn't feel like it's for the good of our children. This book challenges the modern parent race to get kids ahead and into the “right” college and instead focuses on what makes for a successful life for a child and how do we prepare for that. One section is on things kids she be able to do by certain ages and gives practical things we can be working on to prepare our children. Kids may not be born with an owners manual, but this is a great jump start to help parents with their role.

“Why did parenting change from preparing our kids for life to protecting them from life, which means they're not prepared to live life on their own?

Not only does overparenting hurt our children; it harms us, too. Parents today are scared, not to mention exhausted, anxious, and depressed.“

Juli Lythcott-Haims, How to Raise an Adult

Everyday Millionaire by Chris Hogan

While this book just came out, it's an expanded follow up to the book “The Millionaire Next Door” and it studied over 10 thousand net worth millionaires to trace their trends. There are so many myths around net worth and this book just helps shatter so many of those. While this book has way more words than necessary, the idea is so important and all boils down to spending less than you make. It challenged me to be more disciplined and really work hard at taking control of my financial picture.

“Belief is key. If you believe you can do it, you eventually will. If you believe you can't, then you definitely won't.“

Chris Hogan, Everyday Millionaire

So there's my summary of my favorite books to unlock success in all areas of your life. Let me know your thoughts and I'd love some more recommendations as I get my reading on for my next Ironman. Just kidding. I will most likely never do that again! But I will always be wanting to learn more ways to unlock success.

Oh, and if you are looking for more ways to unlock success without reading a book, we have plenty of webinars to help grow your online business. Also, if your business does not have an amazing website, go here now. An amazing online presence is just the most basic way to unlock success in your business. No book reading required. Just tell em I sent you to get your two-week trial for free. Can't wait to see what you create!

Happy October 10th everyone, and happy 10th anniversary to Showit!!*

Where were YOU on October 10, 2006? Where have you come since then? Ten years can teach us a lot of things, and we wanted to share ten lessons we've learned these last ten years.

10 Lessons Learned:

1. “When your business is about helping others, you will never run out of work” – This quote comes from a man as humble as he is wise: Phil Jay, David Jay's father. We took his words to heart when we began this business, and we continue to see the truth of it day by day.
2. Community is more rewarding than a balance sheet can show – As many of you no doubt know, there's a lot more to running a business than brass tacks. Plenty of expenses have a clear correlation to how much money we'll be able to bring in, but some things we may never know the true value of. Community has been one of those things for us. We have invested a LOT in community, from the original OSP (Open Source Photo) community to bus tours (more on that in a moment) to Shoot & Share to our beloved Showiteer community. We may not be able to say just exactly how those things positively impact our business, but we know that they do. From customer loyalty to the sense of fulfillment that comes from investing in others, we value community.
3. Buying a bus makes you a bus company – There was that one time when we bought a bus. Like all small software companies do, right? The idea was that we would take our team on the road a few times a year, having meet-ups and workshops both large and small around the country, and when we weren't using the bus we would rent it out to others. The plan worked…kinda. We did some tours, and then we rented the bus out a few times. Michelle Branch even used the bus once! But she was followed by a rap band named Tech N9ne (in rap, 9's can totally replace i's in words…) who probably treated the bus with the utmost respect, but after that we decided not to rent the bus out anymore. When we first bought the bus, the bus salesman handed us the keys and said “Whelp, you're a bus company now,” and we didn't realize then how true those words were. A bus is not a passive possession. It requires care and upkeep. It requires a place to store it. It requires a specially-licensed driver. It requires…so many things. That bus was a heck of a lot of work, but in the end I'm thankful for the stories and the memories we gained!
4. Mo' money, mo' problems – Truer words were never sung…rapped…whatever. (Well, Tech N9ne may have something to say about that.) There was a time when business was simple. Exhausting, but simple. The company was tiny, the product was popular, and we had very few expenses. We were working day and night, but almost every dollar that came in was ours. Then we decided to expand, and hire others to help us with our vision. For a period of time we hired eagerly, using the profits from our initial product to cover our expanding costs. We are a privately owned company, and we never took money from investors, so those dollars that were once going straight to our pockets were now going to cover the cost of having employees. When things got tight, there were months when we couldn't give ourselves a paycheck because we needed to pay employees. At one point we realized we had more employees than we could justifiably maintain, and we had to let some go. (This is my least favorite part of running a company.) But when I long for those simpler days I also remember how much more we have been able to do together, and those “problems” become worth it.
5. Technology changes and so do we – Our first software was developed using Flash. Remember Flash, everybody? As a developer, I loved Flash. It was a great platform that got a bad reputation from advertisers who used Flash to create annoying, terrible online ads that irritated everyone. When Steve Jobs published his missive against Flash, he broke my heart. However, he also created a paradigm shift that ultimately led to our development of Showit 5. We can't control how technology will change, but we can take charge of how we change.
6. Tech guys have feelings too – I figured if Steve Jobs broke my heart, I was going to break his…by making sure our team of about a dozen people didn't use iPhones. We were all Android all the way for a few years… but now we are back because iPhones are awesome. Time heals all wounds, and Apple is back in our good graces.
7. Investing in memories is important – As a company that embraces creativity, we wouldn't want to have cliché, boring staff retreats. We had one retreat at a beautiful and spacious cabin in Flagstaff, AZ in the winter, which lent itself to skiing and hot chocolate and sweaters. It was cozy and charming and very very cold. A couple years later we swung the pendulum the other way and rented a mansion in Malibu for a few days, where we enjoyed the peaceful and expansive grounds and received massages and endured the constant and disapproving attention of the crotchety owner. A couple years later, we went rustic again, but this time it was really rustic. We rented some old, sparse cabins in the woods of northern Arizona on an Indian reservation, where we awoke each morning to cows mooing around our cabins (and one night we're pretty sure a pack of wolves was roaming and snarling around). From fancy cabin to fancy mansion to not-so-fancy cabins, we made memories each time around, and now we have those shared experiences together. A team can do as many trust exercises as they want, but real relationships happen when you make memories together.
8. Remote teams make it difficult to overcome isolation – When this thing started, David Jay was in Santa Barbara and I was living and working at Hume Lake in central California. As we added employees, our remote-ness spread. My family moved to Flagstaff, AZ, and we had employees there, in central California, southern California, and the Phoenix area. We've even contracted developers out of the country at times. Initially we thought this was a wonderful freedom we possessed as a small business — the ability to work from wherever we wanted to be — but over time we learned that working remotely has some serious drawbacks. Communication is difficult and something is lost when you try to have meaningful conversations over video calls. Plenty of people have comically demonstrated this idea, but the reality was less funny. Eventually we realized that for the quality of our working life to be better, something needed to change, and so my family and I moved down to Gilbert, AZ. Later, our business split to have a single company in each location in either Santa Barbara or Gilbert. We still have the freedom to work from home, but now we spend much more of our time in the same location and we love it!
9. Where you work doesn't have to be boring – Our office is painted like the inside of a spaceship. I don't know that there's much more to be said on that subject. Make your work space into something that gets your creative juices flowing!
10. Hiring friends and family is hard…but it's also pretty fun – You know that age-old advice to always hire friends and family? No? Is it actually the opposite of that? Oh, well, I missed that memo. It seems that everyone who works for us is a family member, friend, or friend of a friend. My brother recently started working for Showit, and his wife has been with us for many years now. My cousin in-law works here, my elementary school friend is our lead developer, some friends from Hume now live in the area and work for us…and the list goes on. I get that working with friends and family can complicate relationships, and of course no one wants to think about the possibility of ever having to let someone go, but I absolutely love working with people I know and like, whose characters I can vouch for and whose abilities I know well. This is one of the things I value most highly about our company.

So, there they are. I could probably make a list of 100 things I've learned…but I'll let my grandkids write that post when Showit is celebrating its 100th anniversary. In the meantime, thanks for sticking with us and supporting us over this last decade! We'd love to hear some of the lessons you've learned in that time.

*Calculating our anniversary is a funny task. In truth, Showit's first software launched near the end of 2005. Meanwhile, Showit as you know and love it now has only existed since May of 2014. But on October 10, 2006, Showit (led by myself and David Jay at the time) officially became a company, and we are thrilled to be celebrating our “official” 10th anniversary of that day!

Last month marked my fourteenth wedding anniversary, and, as usual at such times, my wife and I spent some time reminiscing about the years leading up to now. We remembered smiling for pictures on that hot Arizona day in June. We remembered promising to love each other for better or for worse. We remembered how that proved to be harder than we expected when the rubber hit the road. We remembered the people we had in our life to help and encourage us along the way, and we remembered how “hard” became “easier,” and how our marriage became a source of joy to us both.

In our industry, weddings are front and center a lot of the time. I love that, because it is always wonderful to see moments of love and happiness so beautifully documented. It's also easy to see those images and get the idea that marriage is a fairy tale. We, like most or all married couples, were quickly disillusioned from that idea. There is difficulty in that, in realizing that marriage can be messy and hard and frustrating. But, while marriage is not always a fairy tale, it's also not always crummy. After a year of being married, we moved to a place that I had always loved–Hume Lake Christian Camps in the Sequoia National Monument in central California. Hume Lake is one of the biggest camps in California, with about 250 people living there year-round, and we spent the next five years living and working in this tight-knit community. In an environment like that, you get close to people quickly, and we benefited from close friendships with other newlyweds, as well as having relationships with couples who were a few steps ahead of us in life. It turns out, this is exactly what our marriage needed to thrive. We needed the comfort that comes from having friends who are going through the same things, and we needed the encouragement that comes from the examples of people who have already gone through it.

Community. It's what our marriage needed, and it's what so many professional creatives need as well.

At Hume Lake with some of our friends.

It was during this time that David Jay and I started Showit, which launched the next chapter in our lives as we built a software company. DJ was coming from college and had experienced a community of students and faculty that grew him, and I was coming from a camp where the community had shaped me, and we founded a company that cared more about community than about profit. This led to almost all of our initiatives revolving around how to get photographers together, how to break the isolation that so many solitary photographers felt in their businesses, and how to create an industry that gives and shares so that everyone succeeds. The photography businesses that we saw go under seemed to always happen in isolation, while the successful ones that we watched explode did it together in community with others. So we launched tours and started local groups and conferences and even bought a bus so we could get to more places and encourage those communities to grow.

On paper you may see SHOWIT as a software company that builds technology. But at our core we believe technology is greatest when it enhances creativity, the creativity that comes from individuals who come together and contribute their unique mark on this world. Online and social networks are great for connections, but we believe that deep friendships happen face to face, which is why we will always encourage and promote getting together in local groups or going to conferences or workshops. In October we are hosting UNITED in Scottsdale, the goal is to create an experience that helps you grow, not just in skills but in relationships that will help you succeed. We hope you will join us, be inspired and encouraged by a community that loves and builds each other up.

Fourteen years after getting married, my wife and I are so thankful for the people in our lives who have encouraged, challenged and supported us, because they helped keep us afloat when the waters were rough. I suspect that the vast majority of Showiteers, the ones who would say their businesses are thriving, would also say that it is because of the support of fellow creatives. This is so important–to provide you with resources, to tell you you're worth it, to let you know you're not alone.

So go, be awesome, and let's do this together.

Three weeks ago my fourth son was born. As I hold this small, beautiful little person in my arms and stare at his sweet, delicate face, I am content, grateful, and happy. In this moment, it can be easy to forget that my son, this incredibly good gift, is the result of nine months that were not easy, that were often uncomfortable and difficult. My wife could attest to that even better than I, but we both know that the only way a baby comes into the world is through difficulty. That difficulty is so worth it, though, because of the joy that it brings.

As I look at the new Showit it's so exciting to see how far we've come. It has been a long journey and often times it is easy to forget the struggles that we experienced this year as our company underwent a change of ownership. It was one year ago that we first announced the change, and now, this coming Sunday, we get to celebrate with so many friends at our sold-out Showiteer dinner to kick off WPPI. Throughout the coming week we will be on the tradeshow floor getting a chance to spread some Showiteer love, and we would be so happy if you would stop by and say hello. The WPPI expo gathers photographers from around the world and it can be a bit overwhelming, so it is our desire to create a warm and friendly space where you can come get a hug and get to know some other Showiteers, who will undoubtedly give you support and encouragement. We will have guests in our booth and you can hear many of them teaching at the conference.

We know that the photography industry oftentimes is a lonely one spent behind computer screens, many times with no “co-workers”. The closest opportunity for shared understanding is commonly through social media, but we understand the importance of the connection that only happens when you come together in person with a shared vision and goal for your business. It was out of a desire to create that connection that we launched Showit UNITED four years ago. It is a time to connect with each other in person, to learn and grow with others who aspire to create their own unique photography business. Tickets for UNITED 2015, which will be in Scottsdale, Arizona on October 18th-20th, went on sale this week and after the first two days we are almost full. At this time we still have some tickets remaining, so we invite you to join us for this amazing event. We guarantee it will be an incredible time of learning and developing relationships that will help propel your business to the next level.

Last fall we launched Showit Custom Mobile sites which is the first and only solution for creating a completely customized mobile design. The response has been incredible and we have seen thousands of unique mobile sites created specifically for the mobile experience. Now, we are excited to announce at WPPI that optimized WordPress blog hosting is now included in all Showit subscriptions. We understand the importance of blogging and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to manage all of the technicalities and intricacies of building a blog that represents your brand well. Just as we took on the status quo of templated websites seven years ago and built Showit to give you complete creative control of your website, we are excited to take on the challenge of integrating your blog with your website in a dynamic way that accurately represents you and your brand. If you don't have a blog but have been looking at adding one to your Showit site, now is a great time to get your Managed WordPress blog set up, as you will then be receiving the new updates from Showit as they launch. If you currently have a WordPress blog, there are some huge advantages moving your blog to Showit. It is optimized to be extremely fast, it could reduce a hosting expense, and our support team will handle the migration for you. As we move forward, we believe Showit WordPress hosting will be a key part of giving you the freedom to create a unique web presence that truly reflects your personal brand without compromise.

From the entire team at Showit, we are excited about the road ahead and thankful for the opportunity to serve you and your business. Looking forward to giving you a hug either at WPPI or United 2015!

Merry Christmas from everyone at Showit!!!

Showit Staff & Family

The past few weeks of the Showit 12 Days of Christmas have been an amazing whirlwind. It's been so fun to partner with great people and companies to give gifts to the community to say thank you for all you do as photographers and creative professionals to bring joy to others. Our twelfth day of Christmas involved creating a video of your singing skills, so without further ado, here is our “Showiteers Text Me Merry Christmas”!

We are so thankful for everyone that took part in this fun community video, and we are excited to announce that our Day 12 winner is Loraine & Josh McCall from Mojica Photography, who will be receiving a free year of Showit and joining us at Showit United next October 18-20th in Scottsdale, Arizona! Our earlybird registration sold out, but we will be opening conference registration in January and we hope that you will plan to join us for this amazing event as we come together to learn, grow and be inspired.

The team here at Showit enjoyed watching you create your fun videos and decided to sing a special tribute to the Robot who has been doing lots of texting recently, so here is another special gift for everyone (you'll thank us when you have the song stuck in your head the next few days)!

And if you feel like you haven't heard that song enough and want to just hear it with the video from the final day winner, check out their amazing creation:

My two year old has recently learned to say “I love you,” and he has been saying it to everybody. Being around a toddler who is this openly affectionate means that we often have conversations with complete strangers, and sometimes we get to hear their stories. He said I love you to a woman just the other day, and it turned out that it was her birthday and she felt so cheered by this little bit of sweetness from a child she didn't know.

In our community of Showiteers, we know that there are many of you who are saying “I love you” to others, sometimes to people you don't even know that well. We hear stories of how you have shown up for each other in a pinch, from second shooting to providing gear for someone who's lost theirs. You support each other in your businesses and your personal lives, comfort each other through difficulty, and encourage each other through changes. Just as we hear the stories of others through our toddler's professions of love, we hear YOUR stories through the love you extend to each other.

This week as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we are thankful for this community, a community that is not just professional, but personal. We know that you mean a lot to each other and as we look back on this year that has brought many changes to Showit, we want you to know that your support and loyalty mean so much to us too. We continue to be excited about where Showit is going, from updates to the software (including the update that went out this week), to amazing local Showiteer groups, fun times at WPPI in a few months, and the blast we will have together at United next fall. We hope to see you and give you a hug soon. From our family to yours, thank you for being awesome, and may you have a Thanksgiving that is blessed and joyful.

Todd Watson
CEO of Showit