Julie Branyan Photography


I walked into the Starbucks in Lincoln to perform my pre-wedding ritual of enjoying a veggie breakfast sandwich and grande black tea. I like to sit in the store for an hour to relax and get my thoughts together for the day.

It was a gloomy day but the planters outside were filled with beautiful brightly colored flowers which made the grey skies disappear. I watched the adorable couple in front of me, he was listening to his ipod and she was painting. Carefully she would put her brush to the paper to draw a perfect curved line. She would take breaks to pretend to brush paint onto his face. It was an epic battle full of laughter and her finally winning by putting a little dot on his nose. I smiled as I watched them.

To my right was a guy who was intently reading a book. Every couple of pages he would stop to think about the words that he had just absorbed. This made me curious about the type of book that was holding his attention. I knew immediately it had something to do with his dream. I attempted several times to see the cover. All I could make out was a chair. Finally he got up to get a refill of his coffee. The title Quitter appeared, what could this book be about?

Phone in hand I got on Amazon to find out the story. The description hit me like a truck, especially when I read, “From figuring out what your dream is to quitting in a way that exponentially increases your chance of success, Quitter is full of inspiring stories and actionable advice. This book is based on 12 years of cubicle living and my true story of cultivating a dream job that changed my life and the world in the process.”

I thought about the book all weekend. Before boarding my flight back to Phoenix, I grabbed my kindle and downloaded it as fast as possible. I wasn’t able to put the book down and read it in a day. I got to the end and was teary eyed. It opened my whole world and I felt the author was speaking directly to me.

I can say this book has already changed my view of my Dream and of my Day Job. I wish I would have read this 3 years ago when I started my business. I would have changed the way I ran both jobs and quit in a better way.

Why did I love this book?

This book was speaking directly to me. It helped me see the positive in what I’ve always seen as a negative. I realize I need to access myself, my family and my business before I take a huge leap. Most importantly it reminded me not to give up.

What changes will I or have I made?

“Measuring Hustle”

- Wake up early to work on my dream job. Yes, 5am is programmed on my phone everyday and I will track everyday I follow   through.

-Track what I accomplish in a week

- Be Picky – Enjoy the time where I can be picky about my clients and photography goals.

Fall into like with my day job

- View my day job as an “advocate for my dream job.” It allows me to support pieces of my business that my dream job is unable to.

- Appreciate the difficult things about my day job that will make me a better person and better prepared to handle the situations that occur with my dream job.

In the end I’ve taken risks, some stupid looking back, but I’m where I need to be. When I returned from Omaha and arrived at the Phoenix airport I realized for the first time, in a long time, that I was home.

Just for kicks, I will be giving away two copies of this book. It is so amazing I just want to share it with as many people as possible. Hopefully you will have the same feelings and experience. To enter: Leave a comment below and tell me your dream.For an extra chance to win become a fan of Julie Branyan Photography on Facebook. It won’t hurt you if you are already a fan. Winners announced on Monday, June 6th. *Contest is Closed*

*Winners – Susie Joyce and Jenna Reichert. Send an email to julie@juliebranyan.com and I’ll get those books in the mail.