We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bryan Snyder a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Bryan, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My grandpa has to be the ultimate example for me. He went down to Mexico as a missionary from Ohio. He’d never been, didn’t know any spanish, nor did he know what he was getting himself into in the longrun. Yet, 50 years later, he’s made a lasting impact through south Texas and Mexico.
Granted I wasn’t hear the first half of his time being a missionary, I was able to grow up and see him continue to push through every challenge. It would’ve been easy for him to say, “This isn’t for me,” and gone back to Ohio, but he didn’t. So, his resilience has been an example to me and how pushing through can produce lasting results.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I got into photography from an early age. I was always intrigued with anything that had to do with production – the lights, the cameras, the sets, etc.. When I was a kid, my family owned an RCA Small Wonder Camcorder. I then progressed to using my mom’s Canon Rebel T3; that’s really what kickstarted my interest in photography. So, in 2020, I decided to purchase the Canon 90D since I was going to get serious about photography and making it a business.
Today, I’m based out of San Antonio taking portraits, event photography and video, as well as – and this is the one I’m excited for – starting season 4 of the “That’s B.S.” Podcast. It can be streamed on any listening platform (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc.) or the video can also be seen on my YouTube channel: youtube.com/@thebryansnyder
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Back in 2020, there was an article written by Janice Gair about the 3 C’s of resilient leadership, though I’d say everyone could adopt these not just the leader. The 3 C’s she mentions are Commitment, Control, and Challenge.
1. Commitment:
If you have a goal of any kind, whether it’s for your business, something personal, your finances, etc., you have to be committed to that goal despite the challenges you will face.
It’s easy to quit; it’s harder to stay committed. It’s why only 9% of people complete their New Year’s Resolutions. I’m not shaming you, I’ve given up on making them because I know I’ll forget them by January 2nd!
I remember how Janice made it so simple: choose your goal and break it down into doable tasks. That’s really what it comes down to. You can say, “I’m going to lose 100 pounds this year,” or you can say, “I’m going to lose 10 pounds this month.” By the end of the year, you’ve lost 120! That’s 20 more than your original goal!
So, choose your goal and break it down into doable – less intimidating – tasks.
2. Control:
In Episode 045 of my podcast, I discuss a major problem we all have. I tell the story of how Vanessa and I were going back to work and how she was making me nervous with her driving. She then said, “You’re only scared because you’re not in control.” It was a slap to the face because it’s more than just my reality, it’s the reality for many of us, dare I say, everyone.
We like being in control of things, but there’s so much that isn’t and that’s okay. We don’t need to be in control of everything.
“But I’m not sure I can make it if I can’t control it.” Understand, there are so many people throughout history who didn’t have control over their situations, yet made the most of it and got past their struggles.
I love what Steve Maraboli said, “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.”
You can either keep trying to gain control of the entire situation or trust that you’re prepared for the season you’re in and control that which you do have control over – your emotions, your perspective, your abilities.
3. Challenge:
I mentioned having control over your perspective. As you commit yourself to a goal and begin your journey toward completing that goal, you’re going to face many challenges. Here’s the first challenge that you have total control over: how will you see the challenge?
Your perspective on that question determines whether you’re going to complete your goal or you’re going to quit. Over the last 28 years of my life, I’ve had my fair share of challenges, but I’ve trained myself to look at them as opportunities – opportunities to grow and learn. When we convert them into “opportunities,” it goes from being a burden to a chance to learn something new. It’s not “a struggle I have to endure,” it’s now “a chance to grow in my abilities.”
Changing your perception allows you to be in the driver’s seat.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Again, I have to give credit to my grandpa. The moment that stands out for me when it comes to my personal development and being resilient was when I was playing little league baseball. My grandpa was the home plate umpire for the game. I was batting. Three strikes later, he didn’t just say “Strike three!” He punched me out! Not literally, he just did the whole motion that is synonymous with an umpire’s strikeout call. If I remember correctly, I even looked at him shocked that he struck me out!
We spoke about it after the game and I made a joke with him about calling balls instead of strikes. He responded with, “If they’re strikes, I’m calling strikes. You have to earn the base.” That final sentence stuck with me since. I’ll have you know, he always made me earn it. Whether it was on the field or in my everyday life, he made me earn it.
He taught me to be resilient and that if I wanted something, I had to fight for it; I had to prove I really wanted it. When I wanted to play drums at our church, he made me earn the position of drummer. When I wanted to speak at church, he made me earn the time to speak. When I wanted to go on vacation, he made me earn the funds to go – I sweat a lot that summer!
The point is that my grandpa was teaching me to not rely on handouts. Simply put, if you want something, you have to work for it. Some things will be easy to achieve while others will not. But if you choose to stay committed to the goal, control yourself, and see challenges as opportunities, the reward will be worth every single step of the journey and you’ll appreciate it that much more.
Just remember: you have to earn the base.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thebryansnyder.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebryansnyder
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebryansnyder
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebryansnyder/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebryansnyder
Image Credits
– Photos of Me taken by Tally Neal (@ferrovisuals) – Camila Sierra (@camilasierraa) – Neelam (@neelampie) – Lex Vasquez (@lexis.txx) – Jairus (@jarvisworld)
