My Friends,

I want to share something real with you today — something about failure, learning, and courage. We all dream about doing our best work and serving others with excellence, but sometimes the path to growth isn’t a straight line. In my own photography business — shifting from traditional portraiture to an artistic vision and then back again — there have been moments that didn’t go how I expected. Those seasons felt confusing, disappointing, and yes — sometimes like mistakes.

My father used to tell us this story about a guy who loved soda, so he went into the soda business, with a product called 3UP. It failed. So he started again with a soda called 4UP. It failed, too. So he decided to name his product 5UP and worked just as hard to make it work, but sure enough, it failed again. He realized that he still loved soda, so he tried again with a product named 6UP. It failed, and he gave up completely.

Then, a few years later, someone else came up with a soda product and named it 7UP, which became a huge success. When I was young, I couldn’t understand why my father kept telling us this story. He told it many times. Later, I realized he was telling us to never give up.

The owner had realized tht “another plan that didn’t work,” and he even acknowledged that listening more deeply to colleagues who raised concerns might have changed the outcome. 
Instead of hiding or brushing aside the failure, he looked squarely at it, took responsibility for the flawed decision, and learned from it without blaming others. That kind of honesty — looking in the mirror instead of placing blame — is rare. And it changed how I think about my own creative journey.

When I tried to reinvent my business model, some things didn’t click immediately. There were ideas I loved that didn’t land with clients the way I hoped. There were shifts that made sense in theory but felt uncomfortable in practice. But just like Cullman’s story, I’ve learned something vital:

Failure is not a verdict — it’s a teacher.
I’ve spent time reflecting on what didn’t work, not in shame, but in honest learning.

Listening is strength, not weakness.
Sometimes others see truths we miss in the moment — and when I lean into humble listening, the lessons come faster and clearer.

Responsibility builds resilience.
Owning the parts I misread or misjudged has freed me from fear and made me braver in my next steps.

I could have sat in my failure, but I was reminded that even seasoned leaders make decisions that don’t turn out as planned, but what matters most is how they respond — with integrity, humility, and a commitment to learn. 
I see that same spirit in all of you — in every friend who takes risks to serve others with creativity, care, and heart.

Let’s encourage one another not to fear the twists and turns. Let’s choose courage over comfort, curiosity over certainty, and growth over guilt. We keep creating. We keep learning. We keep trying — because each effort, even ones that don’t work out exactly as we hoped, shapes us into wiser, more compassionate makers and leaders.

With gratitude for you all

January 2026

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outer banks

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