The Pivot

2023 has been a questionable year for me, but I’m ironing out the wrinkles of what’s left in the year and setting up plans for 2024. Quitting in some capacity has popped up several times and in several ways this year and making the necessary changes is imperative to the next year being one for the record books.

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. Not having your business provide enough financial stability to fund your lifestyle and not being able to have insurance for you and your spouse with a serious health complication is beyond stressful. I’ve went and got a few nine to five’s this year. Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch and now Swift Transportation. Trying to be a local truck driver at all three companies as I obtained my CDL last summer after a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, AZ with the Wife. She had an insane evaluation for her kidneys out there for Four days. I realized that I need something to build an umbrella for the rainy days of life’s many obstacles.

Fast forward to Fall 2023, present day. It’s been a frustrating six days after orientation with my new career partnership with Swift Transportation. I finally did something that I NEVER wanted to do. I became a Truck Driver. Yeah, Trucking U.S.A. is the course I will set the tires of my life upon. Some Pun intended. Growing up, I was turned off to Trucking because of the fact that you are away from home for a long period of time. I had about three uncles that were Truck Drivers and they would always talk about how cool it was but that they missed so much being over the road. Today I’m facing the same dilemma. My Wife has kidney disease and I don’t want to be away from home as she needs my help. She is not helpless, she can still get around and do for herself, but her health has declined in the last year. By God’s Grace she has been regaining her strength and motor skills slowly but consistently which makes this move a little easier.

Other than my Wife’s issues being a concern, my Photography Business “Barker Shoots” has been super slow in regard to clients and revenue. Not seeing this downfall as a reason to close up shop I felt like earning a CDL would be a great way to finance my business and stay afloat during financial hardships.

Everyday of the week, I do research and study the subjects that would make me a better Professional and in my research I found a lot of posts about photographers quitting the art. Various videos of individuals speaking on what challenges they have encountered along their journey and what was the final straw in their decision to take a step back from photography. There are days and nights where I question why I keep going, feeling like a fool that created something special that has yet to garner any amount of success. I believe in staying the course because I love taking photos of things that interest me and I feel like the right opportunity is right around the corner.

Patience has been unfamiliar to me at times and anxiety has been a thorn in my backside regularly, but channeling the mentality needed to persevere through the madness has been helpful to my progress this year. The fear of starting over and the regret of not making the correct moves to further establish my business has weighed on my shoulders as it has done to many entrepreneurs. My choice was to pivot and take another route to make sure that I stay online and not shut down. Trucking was not on my bingo card and it most definitely is not a plan B. I see it as an outlet for various means of accomplishments as the horizon of success is limitless. Don’t give up, just pivot and continue to move forward.

-AB

Allow Me to Re-introduce Myself.

It’s been a very long time since I have wrote anything in a creative space, but it feels like I never left. Welcome to The Barker. A new project from me to you. I never considered myself shy, but I have always rejected the spotlight. I was never comfortable having all eyes on me, but I read in Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” That taught me to put the nervousness on pause and just go for it. The Barker is not my first attempt at blogging, but hopefully it will be the most fulfilling. 

The Who?

You guessed it, Anthony Barker. A writer and photographer from Los Angeles, CA. 

The What?

An open journal that will highlight the many lessons and inspirations that have continued to shape my life. Aiming to uplift and inspire others to find what makes them unique.

The Why?

Writing is my first love and I wanted to honor that passion by studying the one person I can’t lie to, Myself.

The When?

Sometime in June 2021

The Where?

Barker Shoots. 

The How?

The Barker is curated by insightful storytelling that will bring to life innovative gems of creativity and inspiration.

I started writing at 9 years old, and over the years, I wrote 17 books independently. I was also a Music Journalist and Blog Contributor for Strange Music writing articles for Musicians such as Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, Big Scoob and others. I started a Podcast, The RelationTrip Show, after putting all of that on pause, I took up photography, a passion that I’ve always admired, but was intimidated to learn. My wife finally convinced me to give photography a try, and I eventually started my own business, Barker Shoots! 

Again, this is not my first attempt at online writing, blogging or whatever it’s called these days. I had a website titled Enter Bungalow 19. I would post my books, artwork and articles that I wrote for others. At the time, having the website and trying to keep up with social media proved to be too difficult to maintain. I grew tired of trying to stay relevant on my socials and found that I cheated myself out of being unique and in the process I lost all interest. I allowed depression, self doubt, and fear to cripple my creativity and rob me of my purpose. I feel ready to get back to my essence and share my blessings, and The Barker is the start. Stay tuned.

Now You Want to Take Photos?

“Growth of a Creative”

I have always liked taking pictures of other people and random things around me. I never thought about buying a camera and really giving it a try. I remember playing with my cousin’s polaroid camera back in the day and being excited to finally understand how to operate it. Later, down the road into my pre-teens, I got into buying the disposable cameras from the brands such as Kodak and Fuji, just to name a few. I had a lot of fun snapping candid shots of everybody and everywhere I would go, except for school. They didn’t tolerate us taking pics at all. That was automatic detention. Unfortunately, I would not always have the money to have the film processed, and I also did not know how to properly store the camera until I was able to have the photos developed. Case in point, back in 1997, my mother had a Birthday party at our house and all our family came out to celebrate. The disposable cameras had a limited amount of snaps that you could take and if you took any shots, they had to be worth it unless you had multiple cameras. I believe I took some good shots that night of all my family. I kept the camera for a while, then the unthinkable happened, my Uncle Junior passed away. That night was a time when I captured him and the rest of our family having fun and really enjoying each other. What made that situation worse was that I tried to get the film developed shortly after and the gentleman at the photo shop told me that the film was damaged. Lesson learned. Fast forward through the years, and the release of camera phones came upon us all. I had the Motorola T722i with a detachable camera. I took pictures of everybody. Good pics, bad pics, it didn’t matter because I had the power of deleting and saving pictures in my phone. Then the evolution of the portable communicator (cell phone) appeared in 2007. The very first iPhone. Yep, one of the most beloved devices in modern history arrived and I had to get one. This phone was a game changer in every way. While everyone would rave about the apps, and capability of the phone, I was interested in the camera. And that camera I used quite often. As more time went on and smartphones getting better and better, I set a standard for myself, I would not buy a smartphone that had a crappy camera. It’s just personal preference. I bought the Samsung Galaxy S8+ over the iPhone 8 Plus because the camera was better. Never mind what apps and other features were available, the only thing that I really care about other than talk or text, is my camera. I love photography. I love how it captures moments in time and how it can tell a story of great magnitude just being in a still frame. I love to see great works of art from other photographers and how they execute their vision, and I love how I found a way to connect two of my favorite artforms, writing and photography.