“Write down all your fears, your flaws, your insecurities, the guilt, the pressures. Look at ‘em on a list. Know they’re all distractions.” – Pharrell Williams

Fears, flaws insecurities, guilt, pressures

  • What if i don’t make any money as an artist. What if I end up selling (extremely bad) novels at a farmers market.
  • What if my dedication to becoming an artist makes it hard for me to work a real job. What if they find out and I get fired, but my art doesn’t make me any money.
  • What if I am poor, as an artist.
  • What if I lose the drive - and I stop showing up?
  • What if I never make anything good.
  • What if I spend too much time on this, and it never really brings any fruit.
  • I’m not courageous sometimes - that’s going to show up in my art and make it really bad :(
  • I love so many things - writing, comedy, music, the outdoors… And i’m passionate about, like, treating poor people right. It sucks to be poor. I’ve felt just the slightest bit of that. I had to check the price of spinach. And I’m still out here trying to be rich so I can retire. I want to get rich first, then give.
  • What if I can’t… do it…
  • What if I try and fail
  • What if I never commit? I can be so… flaky. What if I flake on this, and I spend my whole life wondering if I had just tried, if I would have been able to do it.
  • I’ve got some messed up mentalities about being an artist. What if I’m never able to look past that and I just keep making shitty… shit.

Being an artist is easy

  1. Show up. Make showing up easy, rewarding and fun.
  2. Build a mental model that enables your practice. One that eliminates fear, indecision, and doubt. Your mindset can be an asset rather than a liability. Is your mind working with you or against you? Are you on the verge of losing hope? Is it hard to choose faith? To find your vision? Decide for yourself how the freak you’re not going to lose hope. This is faith. This is minimizing fear. This is about deciding not to give up. I don’t know how to foster this mindset - but rememeber if your mind is working against you… ignore it. Focus on the part that gives you hope.
  3. Decide to make something and make it. Make it the way you want it to be made.
  4. Show other people
  5. Ask yourself, how can I make my art better? More connective to the thing that’s moving within yourself, drawing you out.