you're an artist when you SAY you're an artist.
you're a professional artist when you get paid for it.
if and when you declare your intention to the world that you want to be an artist, get ready for rejection. not because the world doesn't want or need your art. but because most people are afraid to declare their dreams, their truths, their desires... and those people will judge you negatively for having the courage they seem to lack.
nay-sayers. doubters. haters. critics. the world is full of them. much more of them than supporters, allies, advocates and believers. but the great part is that you don't need either of them. you just need yourself. and your own beliefs.
i declared that i wanted to be a musician when i was 16. at that age, most people said "that's adorable" and understood it was just a teenage pipe dream. minimal judgement. but it was after i graduated from college with that same declared goal that people said "uh... are you sure?" and then i succeeded at becoming a full time professional musician. and everyone said "wow i can't believe you get to do what you love and that you stuck with it." and now, after 12 years of not having a day job and only making money from music, people are doubting me again. advising me to "get a real job" or "just try to make some money." most people my age have homes and cars and families and THINGS. i have chosen to forego those securities in the pursuit of my calling. it's not a choice, really. it's an obligation to my truth. i am an artist because i say i am an artist. i am a professional artist because people pay me for my art. struggles be damned. at least i'll die knowing i didn't walk away from my dreams.
don't walk away from your dreams. unless you want to. your life is up to you. rock it.
I'm trying to teach my kids that now -- they're 14 and 11. I didn't get into playing music until I was 21, and by then it seemed that I had a career path mapped out. When I hear people not just say what you just said, but actually do it, I always feel admiration and pangs of regret that I'm working a job that I hate. But I do get to play music semi professionally and Steem might help me with that. And you, too.
But following dreams man - that's a huge thing in life. I'm glad to have found your music.
again, with a comment / reply that hits me in my heart. thank you, man. sincerely. i sometimes feel like the biggest fool in the room to have spent so much of my time and energy on pursuing a dream that hasn't always "made sense," while my friends get their second homes and their third teslas and i'm deciding between bologna sandwiches or mac and cheese ;) but then i get encouragement like this and it makes it all worth it. thank you. a thousand times: thank you.
can't wait to hear / see / experience the art that comes from you and your kids! the world needs it! keep creating!
You're welcome. For me, it's about my guitars. They bring me joy and solace when the world can seem otherwise cold and cruel. I'm at the age now where I'm wondering what went wrong, you know? But seeking through spiritual means to feel gratitude rather than resentment. It's weird, but this Steemit platform is helping me to find that gratitude and use my own voice. I spent years working on guitar tablature and learning songs I like, but never learning to 'play' what was inside me. I can feel that beginning to change now.
And no, it's not too late -- this is me telling myself -- self-expression can be cathartic. The older I get, the more I feel like art is the most important thing, that and love. But life and the ego man. What was it John Lennon said?
I kinda like that.
Its more a "vocation" than a career isnt it? Its a spiritual decision, to make things of beauty and to offer them to the world. However I think there is also some truth that the struggle the artist has to endure is part of the journey. We are swimming up stream by insisting that cosmic laws govern our decisions rather than commercial ones. So there will be difficulty. However, strangely enough, there are eventual rewards for our persistence. We do eventually find our voice, our tribe, our niche, through continually adding value to the world. Anyway, a bit of train of consciousness today...but I feel innately optimistic I guess!
Some real shit...
its not for the weak of heart...
no it is not. thanks for the support, nefariouscloud! right back at you!