You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. ~Steve Jobs
Last night, as I often do, I turned to PBS to see what was on. I love PBS dramas, news programs, and documentaries. Last night there was a documentary on someone I'd never heard of... though I certainly should have. The program was called "Eye on the Sixties" and was about a photographer by the name of Rowland Scherman.
If you are like me, and have never heard of him, I am certain you have seen his work. Mr. Scherman was literally everywhere in the 1960's taking photographs. He was a bit of a Forrest Gump kind of guy, showing up uninvited at some of the most important events of this momentous decade. He took photos at the Newport Music Festival in 1962, which was Bob Dylan's debut. Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary were also there. He heard President Kennedy's speech about the Peace Corps and presented himself to the Washington DC office, only a few desks and very few people at the time, and volunteered to be their photographer. That idea took some selling to the new Director of the Peace Corps, Sargeant Shriver (who happened to be President Kennedy's brother-in-law...) but eventually Mr. Scherman was sent out all over the world to photograph Peace Corps workers. His photos were used to promote the program and help make it the success it has been. It also connected him to the Kennedy family. He took photos of JFK, was invited by Eunice Shriver (President Kennedy's sister) to take photos of an event at her home that was the founding of Special Olympics, and that led to Mrs. Shriver recommending him to her brother Bobby Kennedy to take a family photo for the RFK family Christmas card. Later, when Bobby Kennedy ran for President, it helped Mr. Scherman become the campaign photographer.
Mr. Scherman also had a knack for putting himself in the right place at the right time. He was one of the first to arrive at Woodstock. He was one of the first to arrive in Washington, CD for the March On Washington in 1963 (the event where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech...) The documentary describes him as "a charming guy" and he used that to open doors for himself. It helped him get up close to the stage at a Beatles concert in 1963. It led him to photograph Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell and to be present in the recording studio for the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young debut album (one of my all time favorites...) He finessed himself backstage to get a photo of Bob Dylan at a concert that he sold to Capital Records-- and they put it on Dylan's "Greatest Hits" album cover. That album cover won a Grammy award in 1968.
There will be those who read this that won't know who some of the people are I have mentioned. The 1960's were a long time ago... long enough now that a lot of the details of people and events have faded. I wish I could show some of his photographs here, but alas, they are copyrighted. I would invite you to look up Mr. Scherman online, go to his own web site (http://www.rowlandscherman.com/) or to watch the documentary-- his story is fascinating!
What prompted me to think so much about this guy is not that he had met so many famous people or been present at so many historical moments. It was that he made it all happen for himself. He made sure doors opened to him. He made his own destiny, if you will. This guy was gregarious, charming, and genuinely liked people. He had a way of making people comfortable in his presence. And that allowed him to capture some very famous people at unguarded moments, when their inner self could shine.
The photos are amazing, but the story of the man who took them is equally amazing. I learned, I guess, that if someone has talent and believes in him/herself, they must not be afraid to open their own doors. Success requires creative planning sometimes. It requires an awareness of time and place and what should work in that setting. It requires not just a little BS... (or perhaps, a nicer term is "finesse".)
This is my message to my children and grandchildren: Make your own success. Discover what you love to do and then go make your life happen so you can do that. Mr. Scherman is 76 years old and is still out there shooting photographs, meeting people, recording history in innovative ways. He says in the documentary that he still loves taking photographs. It doesn't feel like work to him-- it is pure joy. That's what I want my children and grandchildren to hear-- if you can do something you love, it won't feel like work. It will bring joy to your life and you will be successful.
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. ~Confucious
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