We were lucky to catch up with Anthony Cardoso recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Anthony, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
I overcame burnout by looking deep into the topic as I took an unwanted but needed break. I drew up a chart and started assessing what wasn’t working, what was working for me. I left a section blank to come up with possible solutions for what wasn’t working. With this visible reminder on my desk, I stopped doing what wasn’t working and started trying new solutions to avoid burn-out. I soon realized I couldn’t work like a robot with 3-4 big focus task or projects with no recovery activities or breaks in between. The biggest takeaway I learned from my research on burn-out was the realization that we are all doing exactly what we are capable of right now (working at max capacity). This changed my perspective of seeing my present energy, focus, and turn-out as a current base that I can grow from instead of not being enough. I understood that with time, effort, and progress I can develop my capabilities to where I want them to be. This mental shift helped me restart and start to recover from burnout.
Furthermore, I learned how important recovery activities are after intense focus activities. These can be fun activities, exercise, watching a dumb show just to have a laugh, etc. Additionally, I learned to include more 5 min breaks while working and focusing on a project. The more 5 min breaks we take, the better we all work. Another lesson I learned was to be more loose with “what specific hours” of the day I dedicate to a task, passion, or project. Life is busy, we’re all human, giving myself this flexibility has taken away any un-needed stress or sense of disappointment.
Lastly, I’ve learned to give myself grace with the phrase “what am I capable of today?”. Sometimes, certain factors, situations, and events in life may take a serious toll on us and we may misjudge our capabilities and unintentionally create un-realistic expectations for ourselves, leading further into burn-out.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
First and foremost, I am someone who values creativity, vulnerability, and high quality. One of my personal mantras is that “creativity and emotions are just as important as quality”. And I make sure to deliver this, along with putting my heart, passion, and experience into every event session, event, and creative project!
Furthermore, I am someone who provides videography for people in their most special moments. I like to share that same vulnerability and enjoyment my clients and their families experience from the day of, to the editing room, and final delivery. I enjoy covering weddings, proposals, and Quinceañeras.
Additionally, I also have the privilege of capturing photography portraits, proposals, and maternity shoots. With my style of photography, I like to showcase nature and bring each image to life. These are two of my favorite art forms.
This year, I am excited about growing my videography services; I will now also be offering and editing service to non-profits, small businesses and creatives who want to provide awareness and impact the community. For example, I had the opportunity to work with the LET THE BEAT BUILD non-profit this summer to help children in low-income communities here in Dallas learn about creating music, regulating their emotions, and expressing themselves. While working with Let the Beat Build, I was given the opportunity to providing video-editing services to showcase the impact their program has in empowering children’s self-esteem, and mindset through the art of music. I can’t wait for everyone to see the social media clips I have edited in the near future!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?One area of knowledge that is important to develop is mental health, this has been an essential part of my journey. The most important tip is to practice what you learn and to be adaptable to new information, insights, and different perspectives. With any area of knowledge, there is no end all- be-all resource. For example, I have normalized following different therapists for different topics such as relationship management, self-care, stress, etc instead of relying on one un-specialized resource. Here is a gem for not getting overwhelmed with this topic, it is important to understand what medium/resource is good for tips and which ones may be good for inner reflection and deep learning. Everyone’s fix will be different. One of my favorites is the Andrew Huberman podcast because it breaks down the science of your brain into easy steps that you can easily add to your day or routine. I’ve learned how simple changes in my routine such as easy bursts of exercise , separating morning (analytical) /afternoon (creative) tasks, and making small changes in my environment have had a huge impact on me and my daily mood. These easy changes along with my other resources, have improved how I deal with stress, focus, and process different aspects of life and the emotions that come along with it.
Additionally, being open-minded has helped me develop my skills, given me new experience and passions, and has allowed me to grow consistently personally and professionally.
For example:
-I had an open mind when I decided to do my first photography session. This allowed me to start developing my creativity, camera work, and intuitively start learning posing skills.
-I had an open mind when I decided to second shoot video for a wedding event. This was a new experience that turned into a new passion and part of my business.
My final nugget of knowledge is understanding that there are only two types of learning that truly matter; doing (or practicing) what you have learned or being able to break down and teach it to someone else; think friends, family, and children. Due to the way many public-school systems and colleges are set, many people are taught to remember, recall a bunch of information for an exam, but never practice learned knowledge. Understanding the difference in value between know-how and knowledge is how one can develop a skill set, a business/passion, and make progress towards a true change in their life.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is anyone who values creativity, high quality, and vulnerability. I am here as someone you can trust and collaborate with to showcase your Beautiful Illusion.
My creativity along with my years of experience, and the fact that I truly enjoy what I do, allows me to execute at a high level during each part of the creative process and all the way up to final delivery.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beautifulillusions.mypixieset.com/contact/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/be.illusions/
Image Credits
1 Personal Photo: Original Image credit goes to Kaylcee Philips (@k.n.gphotography)
