We recently connected with Megan Grass and have shared our conversation below.
Megan , 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 resilience and ability to bounce back from tough situations in life comes from those who have supported me both professionally and personally. Life is full of lessons, you just have to be able to recognize the lesson and learn from it. I truly believe that resilience comes from adversity and failure. Being human is tough and there will always be some kind of adversity to overcome, this takes resilience and the understanding that failure may happen but it doesn’t have to break you. The best thing to do is to realize that you cannot have success without failure.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I believe that success comes from hard work and constant adaptation to the world around you. I have a full time job as well as multiple businesses that I am incredibly proud of and have been in the hospitality & event industry in some capacity for over 20 years.
Megan G Photography – Owner & Photographer
As a photographer in a world where everyone’s smart phone can have a camera almost as good as Nikon it is can be difficult to set yourself apart.
I specialize in something that I like to call Mental Health Photography. Many people suffer from mental health issues. My goal with this photography style is to create a safe space for someone to feel as confident as possible. For example, someone with Body Dysmorphia has a hard time looking in the mirror and feeling confident, I ask my clients what is it that makes them feel their best and whatever that is, that is what I photograph. When they need that confidence boost sometime down the road they can refer to those photos and remember just how wonderful they are.
I have rebranded my photography business multiple times to adapt to clients and the type of photography that I am most passionate about. I chose to open it up to categories that fall in line with what I love to do, to make my clients feel as amazing as possible. I have photographed weddings, events, couples, etc. but my true passion is making people feel confident so I shifted my focus, to my Mental Health Photography, Boudoir & Senior Portraits. I always love to photograph weddings and events and will never turn down the opportunity to do so!
I find a lesson after every shoot that I do, sometimes it’s as simple as an angle or location that would have been more beneficial. Other times I learn a new way to connect with a client that gives me insight on how to make them more comfortable.
Ostentus Digital Media Management – Owner
My most recent venture has been a long time in the making, it has been many other things and has been structured in multiple ways.
In Latin Ostentus means “to display” and that is exactly what I do. We help businesses enhance their brand presence and achieve their goals on all digital media platforms and help with a creative approach to marketing, primarily through social media channels. We take over the posting on these pages to take the burden off the client who has other business decisions to make. We take the creatives and their marketing plans and implement them in the best way possible based on the social media platform they are being posted on. We also offer, Brand Development
Marketing Strategies and Website Reconstructing & Maintenance
Oxotic Supercar Driving Experience – Corporate Event Director
I am the Corporate Event Director for a supercar excursion in Golden, CO. We offer Colorado’s one of a kind, 100% Canyon/Mountain Supercar Rally tours. Our instructors and staff photographers guide the tour in a lead vehicle as the entire group of Supercars follows behind! We put our guests behind the wheel of Supercars such as Lamborghini, Ferrari & McLaren. My favorite part of my job is the joy on our guests faces when they see and drive the cars and get to feel that thrill. It is my job to execute corporate client events for major corporations in a professional and fun way.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I am still very much on my journey, which to me is the best part. Things that have impacted me most thus far on my journey are adaptation, listening to mentors and allowing for failure.
My definition of adaptation is the ability to shift your own thinking and processes to be better equipped to deal with the ever-changing world. Regardless of the industry you are in it will change and if you cannot keep up with those changes then the industry will leave you behind. The world is turning, and you have to turn with it not against it.
Listening to mentors and wiser minds is truly one of the best things anyone can do to improve themselves. There is always something to learn, as well as something to be taught. When the opportunity approaches, be a mentor for someone else. A favorite quote of mine, “We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn.”- Mary Catherine Bateson
Failure, it is inevitable. Sometimes it is a small failure with a small impact and other times it is a big failure with a severe impact and that is okay. Society tells us that you are not worthy if you fail and unfortunately so many give up because of this, I do not believe that failure is a negative. You cannot know success without failure. Failure teaches us lessons, success teaches us arrogance. Fail, get out there and fail again until you have corrected, adapted and proved that your failure taught you how to succeed and when you succeed, remember your failures they will keep you humble.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
There are many who have helped me succeed, supported me and pushed me to keep going when I wanted to throw in the towel. The most influential have been parents, they have unwavering support. Each of them have taught me different things, have challenged me in different ways and prepared me for ongoing obstacles.
My father is my biggest professional inspiration. He is epitomizes for me, resilience. He pushes me to be the best I can and to adapt when needed. He builds my confidence when I am struggling with my own abilities, clients etc. I have seen him overcome obstacles and failures and no matter how difficult it seems, he always finds a way to success. As my father, he is a constant mentor in all areas of life, that said he never ceases to ask me about what he can do to better his own success in areas he knows that I thrive in.
My mother is an unbelievable inspiration as well, she has taught me how to be a strong professional woman in places where that is not wanted, or not recognized. She has taught me not to back down, and to remain strong when the industry or the people don’t want me too. She epitomizes for me, hard work. She does not back down from work and she has gifted me that work ethic and it has made me successful both personally and professionally.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://megangphotography.studio/
- Instagram: @megan_g_photography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megan.g.photographycolorado
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/megan-grass-16706a110
- Other: https://ostentusdmm.com/ https://www.oxotic.com/
