What often allows great work to get the attention it deserves is not a matter of only talent or luck but a matter of the will. Can you stick around long enough to see your work succeed? Do you have enough grit to take a few critical hits and keep going? Or will you get […]
Author: Jeff Goins
Be an apprentice
The first step in an apprenticeship is to find a master worth studying. When you find such a person, consume as much of their work as possible. Read everything they’ve written, watch everything they do, and buy whatever they might be selling. Your goal is to familiarize yourself with their work.
Copy to find your style
The way you establish your authority in a certain field is by mastering the techniques of those who are already authorities. And what eventually emerges over time is your own style.
Artists steal
The best artists steal, but they do so elegantly, borrowing ideas from many sources and arranging them in new and interesting ways. You have to know your craft so well that you can build on the work of your predecessors, adding to the body of existing work.
Don’t do what is expected
If we want to become artists, we are going to have to break some rules. We cannot do just what is expected of us. At some point, we must break away from the status quo and forge a new path. As it turns out, this is how creativity works best.
The script doesn’t always fit
Sometimes in life, the script we’re given no longer fits the story we want to live. We realize the rules we were following were assigned by someone who did not have our best interests in mind. And now, we must do something about it.
Michelangelo Did not starve
We are accustomed to a certain story about artists, one that says they are barely getting by. But Michelangelo did not suffer or starve for his work. A multimillionaire and successful entrepreneur, he was in the words of one journalist a “pivotal figure in the transition of creative geniuses from people regarded, and paid, as […]
Real Artists Don’t Starve
This is Jeff Goins book chat challenges the narrative that artists must “starve” to be true to their art.
Chaotic Route to Purpose
Sometimes the route to our purpose is a chaotic experience, and how we respond matters more than what happens.
Commitment Problem
In our world today, we have a commitment problem. Everywhere you look, it seems you can find a lack of commitment or follow-through. Leaders shirk responsibilities. Politicians blame the “other party.” And many drift from one job to the next, never fully committing to any of them.