When Your Life’s Mantra Becomes Someone Else’s Permanent Ink

When Phil Jones asked Phil Gerdes to come up to the front of the room and have me photograph something for him, I was puzzled.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Phil, but he was wearing a non-branded, plain white t-shirt, so what could be so important to stop the meeting for me to capture a photograph?

In that moment, Phil revealed his right forearm, and to my surprise, my #delivermagic logo and “It’s about them, NOT you” tagline was staring back at me.

At first, I thought it was one of those temporary tattoos that wears off. But, as I stood there processing what I was looking at, the realization that this was permanent ink hit me.

I couldn’t believe it.

When I asked him why, he told me that he listened to a podcast conversation Phil and I recorded about visual storytelling a couple months earlier - not once, twice or even three times…

But 7 times - and planned to tune in for an 8th, as well.

Why?

Because he said that it was EXACTLY what he needed to hear.

Wow.

You know, over the past year, I’ve been wrestling with the next steps in my business and life, and, honestly, it’s been challenging, kicking my ass at every single turn.

And when you layer on moments of isolation, depression, confusion, frustration and doubt as to whether or not I can be relevant and useful beyond snapping photos, I’ve spent a lot of time in my own head, thinking not great things about the future and myself, as a whole.

And then someone decides it’s a good idea to brand your life mantra on their arm forever…

I mean, how do you respond to that?

While it was one of the most flattering, inspiring, uplifting - and outrageous - photos I’ve ever taken, the biggest takeaway for me is something much bigger.

Optimism.

While my journey hasn’t become any more clear, this moment reminded me that I have so much more to offer than I often give myself credit for. And it also reminds me that I have amazing folks in my corner cheering me on.

While Phil mentioned that the podcast conversation was what he needed to hear, that tattoo was EXACTLY what I needed to see

😊🧡

PS - In case anyone else is feeling frisky, I have two other hashtags, #yeahabsolutely and #sharemagicalideas, that still haven’t been tattooed on anyone, so let me know if you’re interested 😂