We had the good fortune of connecting with James Patrick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
In my career as a photographer I’ve photographed more than 500 magazine covers. But when I started taking photos two decades ago I promise the images were not that good. As a podcaster with a show charting in multiple countries, I’ve been on the microphone a few thousand hours. My first episodes, I can guarantee sucked. As a writer I was able to create a best-selling book. But I’ve always been having my articles published since I was 15 years old and I know my first handful or articles were absolute crap. The difference is – I was willing to push through the bad in order to create something worthy of being noticed. The struggle that many aspiring entrepreneurs have when it comes to launching a business or creating their success is that they hold onto their idea for too long. It is the individual who wants to write a book who has been re-working their first draft for years. It is the individual who wants to launch a podcast who is trying to craft the perfect angle for it. It is the individual who wants to open cart on a new business but wants to refine it before telling anyone about it. The truth is that perfectionism is holding back the actual success behind a launch. What is required is launching an idea to market before you feel completely ready. Once an idea is put into the marketplace the entrepreneur receives the gift of feedback in realtime. Our launches are not static as we now live and work in a dynamic world. That book you want to release? Hit publish and use the feedback to create the second, third, fourth version and so on. That podcast you want to share? Hit record and release the results to the world to use the feedback to make the second episode better than the first. That business you want to launch? Open that cart and adjust the business as your audience tells you what they need. Be willing to suck. Be willing to fail. That will give you the experience to create something that can succeed.

What should our readers know about your business?
I began my career as a journalist until a camera was put into my hands and a career as a visual artist began where I have photographed more than 500 magazine covers and have had my work published in every major market in the world. After college I also spent the better part of a decade working in marketing and business development where I had the opportunity to get first-hand experience on how to develop leads, build effective client relationships and land projects. I then combined the two tracks in my life to create FITposium, an annual conference and online education network to help health and fitness professionals build a brand, market a brand and profit from their brand. This focus led me to launch my podcast Beyond the Image and my mastermind, The Get Amped Mastermind for entrepreneurs who are ready to unapologetically get loud in the pursuit of their success. At each learned that in order to get to the next level, I had to be willing to launch before I felt I was ready and that confidence was actually a myth. Entrepreneurs are always terrified. The difference is that they act in spite of that fear.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Without question I would take them on a day trip to Sedona. Would start with a hike near West Fork trail and then once we got into town to grab a margarita at Elote Cafe or ribs and beers at Oak Creek Brewery.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
No one succeeds on an island and I owe much of what I have to those who showed me the next step. For me, I was blessed to have a professor in college who saw a future for me that I was unable to. Thanks to the late Professor William Greer I became a photographer, an award winning journalist, a public speaker and a professional marketer. When I needed to be shown the next step, he was there. And even though the world was robbed of Professor Greer in 2012, I still believe he is there to show me the next step when I need him the most.

Website: JamesPatrick.com / FITposium.com
Instagram: Instagram.com/JPatrickPhoto / Instagram.com/FITposium
Facebook: Facebook.com/JamesPatrickPhotography / Facebook.com/FITposium
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jpphotoaz

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