I have had the hardest time getting up in the morning this week. Maybe I accumulated an enormous sleep debt and I’m suddenly having to make up for it? It’s incredibly likely; I’ve got three kids and I tend to wake up early, even when exhausted, so there are YEARS of accumulated sleep debt. And covers can be so snuggly. So I’m rolling with it, obviously I need the rest. I’ve been slowing down on the amount of product I create as well; I’ve got a lot to do over the course of the year and I don’t want to permanently burn myself out (I know I’ve worked overmuch when I break down and read a book in one sitting).
Why We Must Be Advocates, Not Platform Builders Have you read the business advice that says to always be looking out for the next trending thing? And then to capitalize on it? I have, and merely reading that kind of thing exhausts me. I am not the person to follow trends, I simply don’t care, it’s going to change anyway. I know my market is not the type to sell oodles, it’s more of a niche thing, but that’s what I enjoy doing, so that’s what I’m going to do. And I don’t really have a humanitarian reason for doing what I do; I shared in my last blog post that one of my primary reasons for creating art is because I find much of it boring. That’s gonna change the world, it is-but at least I’m staying true to what drives me, and not piggybacking on an actual cause. If that makes sense. I don’t know, I’ve only had two cups of coffee this morning.
Fear is Boring, And Other Tips for Living a Creative Life This article is simply brilliant. Elizabeth Gilbert has some excellent tips for truly “leaning in” to the creative life.
The Magical Key To Doing It All This article is geared more towards parents, but I think it can apply to anyone. It reminds me of J.K. Rowling’s statement that her house was an absolute wreck while she wrote the first Harry Potter book; we only have time for so many things and in order to do those things other things will take a back seat. For me, my priorities are 1. Homeschooling and 2. Art. Cleaning the house and exercising come in third, and then everything else happens when I have a bit of extra time/energy. Which means we have a lot of sandwiches, because I don’t particularly like cooking.
What’s Behind a 10-Year ‘Overnight’ Success? I’m part of several etsy groups and fairly regularly I’ll see a post by a discouraged person who opened a month earlier and expected overnight success. Sometimes I complain in a similar fashion, truth be told. I’ve been open for a whole six months, shouldn’t I be rich by now?!? But the truth is, for most of us it’s going to take an enormous amount of work to be successful. I have two brothers whose lives are a living reminder of that fact: they put in over a decade of hard work and late nights, and they are just now seeing the monetary rewards (they make a heck of a lot more than I do in the music and film industries). It rather puts my six months into perspective;)
And that’s all, my friends. It’s Friday, our weather is gorgeous (sorry Denver) and we’re going to go hiking tomorrow. And then I think I will create things (I have new book covers!!!). What are you up to?
Art on, my friends!
Wordsremember 