[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fMlPkFkeJrANIOnWhu-lZSWjCHsDD7yqlek5gvEIGAuQ":3,"$fl99IkmeWA4Aqyeu-1Y-5IMvaFvDDHi6DfPxfQ5HPFrM":20},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},114918,"Sam Abell","S",96,null,"sam-abell",[12,16],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},5075,"photography",18,{"tag_id":17,"tag_name":18,"tag_count":19},56,"thinking",9,{"quotes":21,"pagination":85},[22,31,37,43,49,55,61,67,73,79],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":27,"source":28,"quote_tag":29,"commentary":30},3409058,"I had luck, but I worked hard and I suffered. It’s not just photography I’m talking about. It’s about whatever dream you want it to be.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nSam Abell's quote, \"I had luck, but I worked hard and I suffered. It's not just photography I'm talking about. It's about whatever dream you want it to be,\" likely originated from his experiences as a National Geographic photographer, where he spent over 40 years capturing some of the most iconic images of our time. This quote was probably shared during a lecture or interview, reflecting on his career and the lessons he learned along the way. In the 1970s and 1980s, Abell was part of a generation of photographers who pushed the boundaries of storytelling, and his words reflect the struggles and triumphs of that era.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe counter-intuitive truth in Abell's quote lies in the subtle shift from luck to hard work and suffering. While luck can play a role in success, Abell's emphasis on the value of hard work and suffering reveals that true fulfillment comes not from external circumstances, but from the effort and perseverance one invests in their dreams. This tension between luck and hard work highlights the importance of acknowledging the role of chance while also recognizing the agency we have in shaping our own success.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, recognize that luck is not a fixed trait, but rather a combination of being in the right place at the right time and the effort you put into creating opportunities. By acknowledging the role of luck while focusing on hard work and perseverance, you can take ownership of your success and turn your dreams into a reality.",{"id":32,"quote_text":33,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":34,"source":35,"quote_tag":36,"commentary":9},3409046,"There isn’t an aspect of book creation I don’t enjoy, and there has always been a book in my life to dream about or work on.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":38,"quote_text":39,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":40,"source":41,"quote_tag":42,"commentary":9},3409039,"When I first went to ‘National Geographic,’ I thought I was the least qualified person to step through the doors. But because of my parents and the culture of continual learning they imposed on us, I later came to believe I was the most qualified person who ever worked there.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":44,"quote_text":45,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":46,"source":47,"quote_tag":48,"commentary":9},3409032,"In almost every photograph I have ever made, there is something I would do to complete it. I take that to be the spirit hole or the deliberate mistake that’s in a Navajo rug to not be godlike, but to be human.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":50,"quote_text":51,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":52,"source":53,"quote_tag":54,"commentary":9},3409025,"Above all, it’s hard learning to live with vivid mental images of scenes I cared for and failed to photograph. It is the edgy existence within me of these unmade images that is the only assurance that the best photographs are yet to be made.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":56,"quote_text":57,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":58,"source":59,"quote_tag":60,"commentary":9},3409017,"How the visual world appears is important to me. I’m always aware of the light. I’m always aware of what I would call the ‘deep composition.’ Photography in the field is a process of creation, of thought and technique. But ultimately, it’s an act of imaginatively seeing from within yourself.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":62,"quote_text":63,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":64,"source":65,"quote_tag":66,"commentary":9},3408987,"There are a lot of ways to be expressive in life, but I wasn’t good at some of them. Music, for instance. I was a distinct failure with the cello. Eventually, my parents sold the cello and bought a vacuum cleaner. The sound in our home improved.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":68,"quote_text":69,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":70,"source":71,"quote_tag":72,"commentary":9},3408977,"I think of myself as a writer who photographs. Images, for me, can be considered poems, short stories or essays. And I’ve always thought the best place for my photographs was inside books of my own creation.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":74,"quote_text":75,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":76,"source":77,"quote_tag":78,"commentary":9},3408963,"Life rarely presents fully finished photographs. An image evolves, often from a single strand of visual interest – a distant horizon, a moment of light, a held expression.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":80,"quote_text":81,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":26,"author":82,"source":83,"quote_tag":84,"commentary":9},3408947,"Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment – this very moment – to stay.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":86,"totalPages":87,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":87},1,10]