The word “breakthrough” implies that something has to be destroyed so that something new can be created. Consider what you want to change: What needs to break?
Here are 6 ways to expedite your breakthrough, which all involve disrupting your routine or trying something different. Keep working and be open to possibilities throughout the process.
Work Differently to Facilitate a Breakthrough Read
Luck has had little to do with the success of your art career regardless of whether you feel lucky, were born into luck, or are convinced you are unlucky.
I’m fond of quoting Thomas Jefferson on this subject: I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. When you work hard and make progress every day, you put yourself in a better position for luck to find you. Chances are good that the artists you admire worked hard for the luck they seem to have.
How to Be More Successful and Lucky Read
Failure is necessary for growth. If you are succeeding at everything, there is no way you’re learning and growing.
Laura talks about a few failures she has learned from, why it’s helpful to have a little bit of time and space before examining failures, and the shame that gets in the way of sharing failure with others. We also discuss the inevitable comparisons with other artists that arise when you fail and see only their successes.
What your failures are teaching you with Laura Petrovich-Cheney (95) Read
We are hard wired for self-protection.
The moment we smell risk, our physical bodies start preparing for the encounter. Our mental faculties begin telling us how we can avoid it or, short of that, deal with it.
There is no room for growth when you focus on avoiding risk. Here are a few areas in which you might be playing it too safe in your art business.
Are you playing it too safe in your art business? (92) Read
Imposter syndrome is the hairy beast that shows up when we’re trying to take that next big step in our lives.
We know what we want to achieve. We know we want more for ourselves. And we know we have to embark on a new adventure in order for that to happen.
There is scary stuff ahead. Stuff we don’t know how to do. Stuff that doesn’t come with a guarantee of success. This fear is real, and it’s trying to keep us safe.
Danger ahead! Watch out!
In her book Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert writes:
Your fear will always be triggered by your creativity, because creativity asks you to enter into realms of uncertain outcome, and fear hates uncertain outcome.
When we allow that fear to be in charge, we give away our power, our hopes, and our dreams. We hear voices whispering …
Who do you think you are?
Most artists have battled these voices, which is why I was happy to discuss imposter syndrome on the Art Biz Podcast with corporate-world-turned-full-time-artist Christa Forrest.
Christa is a big advocate for fake it til you make it, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have doubts and insecurities. In this episode, you’ll hear how Christa developed thick skin by showing her work at art festivals, why she is laser focused on building her email list, and how she overcomes feelings of inadequacy in her art practice.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome with Christa Forrest (91) Read
I am tired of watching artists and arts organizations live on leftover scraps.
Mind you, the organizations and agencies aren’t cheap with the patrons and board members with the big bank accounts. They are cheap with the artists, without whom their passionate interest would not exist.
Artists, in turn, grow to feel they are not worthy of more.
Don’t get me wrong. Frugality isn’t inherently bad. In fact, it can be good.
I don’t believe in spending for spending’s sake or in extravagance.
But frugality becomes detrimental when it feeds the notion that we are not worthy of more.
Many of my clients develop this sense of unworthiness that is perpetuated by the very organizations that were created to serve them.
I confess that I behaved similarly in the past.
For years I have been writing about how artists can show that their work has value. But I continued to allow the organizers who hired me for workshops to do things “on the cheap,” and I was doing the same with the workshops and events I organized myself.
How can I save money? was my modus operandi.
My first workshop, in 2003, was held at an office building that a friend managed. I recall my parents (!) picking up and delivering boxed lunches to the group.
At a much later workshop, I ran my team ragged making coffee all day long – trekking repeatedly to the kitchen on the other end of the building. Coffee! Because I didn’t pay for a venue that had food service.
No more.
I began attending
Is Being Too Cheap Hurting Your Art Business? Read
In this blog post I encouraged you to consider how your frugality might be hurting your art business by sending the wrong message to potential collectors.
At the end of that article, I posed 3 questions for you to think about, which we will now look at in depth. The intention is to ensure that you are not only living with an abundant heart, but that you are projecting that way of being into the world.
Perhaps a better question is this: How do you allow others to treat you?
For example … If you’re a member of an artist organization, what is the room like at your artists’ meetings? Is it dark, gray, and lifeless?
Do something to combat the drudgery and nurture abundance throughout the organization. Ask members to bring snacks on beautiful trays – preferably handmade by an artist – instead of paper plates.
Assign alternating people to arrive early at each meeting to clean the room and serve as welcoming hosts.
You can be the catalyst for change within any organization to which you belong.
We teach people how to treat us by
How to Feel More Abundant in Your Life and Art Read
Plenty of people denounce Valentine’s Day as one that was invented by the greeting card industry, but put me in the column for wanting more love, more hearts, and more sappy cards.
Send away!
Recognize the romantic love between you and your partner.
Celebrate familial love with your parents, children, and extended family.
Commemorate the special love between you and your friends.
And don’t forget to honor the love you have for your buyers, collectors, patrons, and students.
Send cards, flowers, and chocolates. If it’s too late to pop something in the mail, start typing your email messages.
While you’re at it, stock up on the love for yourself because you’re gonna need it.
The artist’s life is full of rejection and criticism.
The gallery doesn’t want your work. That couple praised your recent piece, but didn’t buy it. The residency you want so badly won’t consider your application.
To add insult to injury, nobody commented on your recent blog or social media post. You’re beginning to wonder what the point of all this is.
It’s amazing that any artist thrives at all. It’s a testament to your resilience that you persevere despite the roadblocks you encounter.
You do it because you have an unwavering commitment in the work you do. You can’t imagine doing anything else.
Still, because you are human, the criticism and rejection hurt.
And those voices are louder than any chorus of praise you might receive. The default for so many of us is to dwell on the negative comments and rejections and ignore all of the nice things that people say about our work.
Do this instead:
Dwell In the Love Not On the Rejection Read
Kelly and I scheduled our conversation to discuss her “life edit,” which involved getting rid of what no longer served her. It quickly became apparent that ridding herself of stuff when she had to downsize her studio is something she had been preparing herself for in the many years leading up to that moment.
Her story is one of perseverance and joy. She was eager to discuss the many tools she used to facilitate her healing and the people she relied on along the way.
Tools to help you emerge from a struggle even stronger than before with Kelly Milukas (83) Read
Ambitious artists hire me because they want more recognition for their art and support as they get their art out of the studio and into the world.
I strung together these words during a small group discussion at a conference. One of my clients happened to be sitting next to me and flinched at the word choice: ambitious. (You should have seen her face!)
Then she challenged me on it. The word just didn’t sound right, she thought.
I said, “You’re ambitious. Don’t you think?” She thought a bit, and agreed with a little hesitation, “Yes, I probably am. It’s just the word I have problems with.” (Update: She has since embraced the word fully!)
Definitions of ambition include:
If you don’t see yourself in any of these definitions, you might want to rethink your path as an artist-entrepreneur (all successful artists are also entrepreneurs).
Without the desire, there’s no motivation to take action. Without the action and hard work, there are no results.
“Ambition” isn’t something that’s usually associated with artists, and it’s even been viewed as a negative attribute for women to possess. Yeah, I know. Really? In the 21st century??
We still have problems with ambitious women? Women still have problems owning their ambition?
C’mon!
We also have a tendency to worry about
Ambitious Artists Own Their Goals Read
