Often in life it’s really hard to do things that matter. In The War of Art Steven Pressfield calls the force that makes accomplishment so hard resistance: “Are you are writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what resistance is.”

Resistance takes many guises, and you can read Steven Pressfield’s excellent short book to see many of them defined, and to formulate a game plan for overcoming resistance.

Do you know what? Almost everything about my life and work as an artist and photographer is hard. I know resistance. I fight it every day.

With this image taken in a slot canyon near Page, Arizona, the act of photography was physically difficult. I had to get to the location, wait for the right weather and maneuver my camera and tripod into position to keep the rig steady for a number of exposures. When I finally had time to get to it, processing took many hours of precision work on my computer.

There’s no guarantee that anyone will like—let alone buy—anything I do. My work supports a family of six, so this is a scary thought.

Doing my art may be hard, but it is a great gift to me, difficulties and all.

I like to say that if it were easy, everyone would do it.

True enough. And, in some perverse way, the difficulties of making my art help me keep at it, day after day. I enjoy a challenge. Most of the time I have faith that there is light at the end of the tunnel.