Jay Cassario

PERSONAL POST... It’s amazing how easy it can be, to allow yourself to fail as a parent in order to succeed at business. It was as if I had been handed a hall pass and told not to worry about it, the business was what mattered most. That’s what put food on the table right? True. But how’s that food taste and who’s eating it with you? It wasn’t until a Maine vaca last month when I completely disconnected from the biz and went 100% unplugged with no phone or laptop that I realized how disconnected I had been at home over the past 2 years. I thought I had been doing enough. Even hearing myself use the description of “enough” brought tears to my eyes. I have one son, after 7 years of infertility he’s the only one I’m gonna ever have. “Enough” is exactly why I was failing. That vacation was what I needed in order to see how much I was missing out on and not in the moment at home after long days at the studio. I was failing as a parent and husband in order to put everything I had into the business. This past Saturday my son refused to play in his soccer game because I had a wedding to shoot and wasn’t there to watch him. Dagger to the heart. There’s going to be sacrifices along the way but my focus for the next 6 months is to be ruthless. We will do what’s needed to grow @twistedoaksstudio into exactly what we had envisioned 6 years ago. A business that would allow both of us to disconnect and be more present and in the moment at home with our small family. This next year will be an interesting one. The bar is set high. . .