Billy Surface Photography

Try I believe that successful people are the ones that do. In my career I’ve had the privilege of standing face to face with so many intensely inspiring and hugely successful people. I’ve had to figure out how to relate to those who I have seemingly nothing in common, so they will lay it all out for the camera. It’s an opportunity to find out what motivates them. One thing is always the same. The most successful people in life are not always the ones with the most talent, or the best ideas, the most successful people in life are those that are not afraid to try, that show up in the face of uncertainty. The ones that are not afraid to dream big. Break Stuff I’ve been breaking things since I could hold a screw driver. To me, the motors in a remote control car were ultimately more important then the car itself. Perhaps I could build a remote control helicopter! First test flight to be held in grandma’s living room. All Night Long When the day comes to an end and deadlines are looming, when the pressure is the greatest, you just keep going. Time and time again, I find that’s when I do my best work. Make Good Art Billy Surface is a Moniker I took for myself as a musician after hearing an interview with Iggy Pop onTerry Gross’ Fresh Air. For Iggy, it was about eliminating self censorship. “As Iggy Pop, there are all sorts of things I can do and receive that I can’t as James Jewel Osterburg.”, And while I do find it’s necessary to filter myself from time to time, when I started my own business in 2007, I kept the Moniker as a reminder to keep it real, or as Neil Gaiman said in his now legendary 2012 commencement address at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, “make good art”. Mr. Gaiman’s speech highlights three things I’ve tried to keep constant in my life. Deliver on time. Play nice with others. Make good art.