The life of an artist has no guarantees. Right? Sure it’s risky. Just like entrepreneurship, you’ve got ideas and you put them out into the world and there’s no guarantee of how it will be received. Most artists also get told by someone at some point they probably will never make much money. Which kind of sucks out some of the motivation, no? Sure you can make stuff but you’ll never get very far with it- not exactly an exciting proposal for a career.
What I’ve learned, and what I see other creative people missing, is that you must create your own security. And you must act AS IF you have a guarantee it will work out, that you will make money. Because otherwise you will spend all your time in doubt, in fear, focused on insecurity rather than taking control as much as you can to make sure you’re where you want to be. (Financially, and otherwise.)
I unfortunately witness so many talented people who have removed themselves from truly committing to their passions, their beautiful skills, because they don’t feel a sense of security and therefore hold back on going all in powerfully. It takes money to make money. But it also takes a sense of knowing, an inner motivation and a set of beliefs that say “You’re going to be more than fine, go after it!”
If you’re honest with yourself, have you stepped up to follow your dream and pursue it with every ounce of inspired effort you can muster? Or have you done just a bit, tried a few things for a while then gave up or decided it wasn’t working? Are you letting fear of an insecure life keep you stuck in insecurity? Have you really used your best strategies and gotten support to get seen, get known, and get the career you want?
You cannot just create and expect someone to find you, change your life and decide you’re worth the money, worth the effort, worth the security that comes from consistently getting visible! You must decide for yourself. And you must put the effort in fearlessly before others will back you. You must trust you have the power to make it happen. You must overcome the negative stories your mind tells you, that other people have told you, to set yourself free and create the life and business you desperately desire.
If your future in a creative field doesn’t seem secure, it’s because you’ve decided it’s not.
You can figure it out, you can expand your income streams, you can make it easy to show up and get visible every day, you can let more people know about your work, you can reach out and find great support, great fans, great collaborators. You’re not the only one going through this, and you’re not the only one who was told it’s risky. But if you’ve decided YOU are worthwhile, then let yourself curate your experiences, curate your business, curate your life into the one you want.
What if it was guaranteed? What if success was a sure thing? If you knew you could have everything you want, but you had to show up and create and do business whole heartedly. How would you go about things differently? How would you feel about your work? How would that change your life?