Season 2 – epiBLOG 24:
DECEMBER THEME – “GIVING”
How about giving yourself a break? I know the holiday season is about “giving” to others, but giving to yourself is equally as important. I understand that as a striving entrepreneurial artist, some of you may have a day job that requires you to be innovative just to find that special time during each day, or at some point during the week, to simply “create.” I’ve posted a somewhat similar blog about this topic months ago. However, today the difference is that I want you to focus on giving yourself what you need in order to be the most effective artist that you can be, which is the subject of the day’s topic.
For some of us, we would rather starve to do our art than to use our time trading hours for dollars at a job that we can’t stand. We will sleep on couches, in our cars with all of our personal belongings and the “check engine” light on just to create. Have you ever loved a job, let alone your art, that much to be willing to do those things for it? Don’t worry –- if you haven’t, that doesn’t mean that you love your art any less.
Others of us, can’t conceive of falling into the clichéd starving artist method, and therefore, continue to work hard in order that all of our bills are paid, that food is on the table, gas is in our cars, and that we have a home that resembles some sort of normalcy so much so that we almost blend in with society. Nevertheless, there is the person right in the middle who is somehow able to pay their bills with a day job and create their art in their spare time. Bravo to that individual. Finally, there is the entrepreneurial artist that gets to make a living creating and doing what they love to do and what they were meant to do all along. The latter is what many of us strive for, but somehow we get lost along the artistic journey.
Somehow, bills get the best of us. Past due dates. Bill collectors calling for their money. Your credit score tanking. You attempt to quiet your mind long enough to paint, to draw, to write that book or that song, but the sound overwhelms your internal ears. “I want to create,” you say, but the tug to pay for your responsibilities pulls you, almost like you’re grabbing one end of a rope in a tug-of-war match. Before you know it, an entire year has gone by and you hadn’t written another screenplay, sculpted another piece, or created a new signature dish that everyone can’t wait to devour. You’re losing the tug-of-war match, but you haven’t let go of the rope. You refuse to be defeated. Your dream seems to be off in the untouchable distance, but something on the inside of you tells you to continue to hold onto the rope, even when you’re on your knees – dirty and bloody from continuing to fight for what you know you are supposed to do, to have.
I say to you, “don’t get distracted.” It’s imperative that you give yourself time to “create” so that you won’t remain in the position in life that doesn’t satisfy you. Each time you hold onto the rope, you give yourself permission to continue to create. This is where you can write for an hour towards the completion of your script each day, to write 5 pages, or 3 scenes. Whatever works for you.
Today’s LESSON is to create time in your day or your week to “hold onto YOUR rope.”
FUN ASSIGNMENT: Plan out your next 7 days and schedule specific times that would satisfy you and not interfere with your other responsibilities to simply create your art. Stick to this schedule no matter if you’re tired or simply don’t feel like it. Do it anyway. The only exception is if there is an emergency beyond your control that demands your immediate attention.
Share This
Share this post with your friends!