Get really good at not going away

The common misconception about success is that we need talent plus persistence. 

But that’s not exactly true. 

The reality is, persistence is the talent. The skill that makes your name dear to history is being good at not going away. The ability that secures your spot in the pantheon is loving your creations enough to bring them into being. He who hungers most, wins. 

And the good news is, if you’re determined and you really, really want to make your art happen, you can take comfort in the fact that virtually everybody else is going to give up. And that leaves the road clear for you. 

Remember, creativity is a long arc game. It takes decades to do anything substantial. And so, even if you have to take a few detours along the way, even if you have to work a second job bankroll your ability to do your art, it’s worth it. 

When I first started my publishing company, I felt shameful for having to get a night job parking cars at a luxury hotel. But I knew it’s what I had to do to underwrite the production of my books. Which I wrote while standing around in the snow waiting for guests to throw me their keys. 

A decade later, when I celebrated the ten year anniversary of starting my publishing company, I felt like a failure for getting a day job as a copywriter at a digital agency. But I knew it’s what I had to do to stay in game long term. Which I did by producing a concert documentary while sitting at my cubicle waiting for my next bullshit assignment. 

That’s persistence. You do what you have to do to give yourself to your path. In fact, looking back, had I never worked those second jobs, I may never have been able to stick around for fifteen years. 

Lesson learned, give yourself the freedom to pursue your own interest in art, without being burdened by a focus on the potential outcomes. Beware of putting pressure on this art that you love that it has to make a living. It’s not creativity’s job to support you. Don’t yell at it for not making money. 

Go be your own patron instead.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Do you create things because you love them enough to see them exist?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

Now booking for 2016-2017.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!