Find the diamond in the dust
Creative, talented people often worry a lot about things like:
Is my art good enough? Am I good enough? Am I an artist anyway or just a creative mess-maker?
What will other people say when I post my art on Instagram? OMG, they will laugh at me and think I’m silly, talentless, and arrogant.
Who am I to think that I’m something in this world?
Who cares about what I create? My art is ugly compared to what others create.
I will never reach my dreams. Achieve my true potential. What is my true potential anyway? OMG, I will never, ever reach my dreams. I’m aiming too high. I’m a loser.
I have a huge unrealized potential inside. I just know I have. But how will I ever achieve it?
I will never have true success. Because who is waiting for me? My family perhaps. My close friends. That’s it. Boohoo.
Artists deal with a lot of fear and guilt on a (mostly) unconscious level.
I see it all the time. Many Super-Startists were suffering from precisely this when they signed up to the Super-Startist Membership.
I recognized their potential. They didn’t.
Because there was a glass ceiling and a fog of fear standing in the way that prevented them having a clear view of their horizons.
Artists prefer to deal with knots in their stomach instead of finding the diamond in the dust. Their egos set off smoke bombs of fear and procrastination and make them sabotage their own path to success.
Many artists are focused on what others think and are fearful of criticism
Many prefer to stay in their Zone of Incompetence (this zone is made up of all the activities we’re not good at), their Zone of Competence (you’re competent at the activities in this zone, but others can do them just as well), or their Zone of Excellence (here you will find the activities you are doing extremely well).
Gay Hendricks talks about the Zone of Genius in The Big Leap. The Zone of Genius is what’s most effortless. If you are truly able to relax and create your art, you’ll recognize that you can create almost instantaneously, and without too much thought. Liberating and expressing your natural genius is your ultimate path to success and life satisfaction. When you combine this natural talent and skill with hours of practice and repetition, you find yourself among the small percentage of people who can break through and reach success.
But the point is that it begins with you
The important thing to recognize is that your Zone of Genius is not just what you’re ‘passionate’ about. It’s not just what you like the idea of. In fact, it can often be something you may not love a whole lot initially, but it’s something you recognize that you’re naturally gifted at. If you can identify those skills or interests, you can capitalize on them by working on them consistently. The combination is what will help you strike gold.
In Hendricks’ book, he asks you to consider the following questions:
What work do you do that doesn’t seem like work?
In your work, what produces the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to the amount of time spent?
What is your unique ability?
Ultimately, it’s about identifying what comes most naturally to you, and then capitalizing on that, rather than identifying what has come naturally to other people, and trying to teach yourself those skills in order to mimic and recreate their genius. You can absolutely be successful in the Zone of Excellence. But to take your life to the next level, you cannot keep playing by other people’s rules.
I love helping artists to reach their Zone of Genius
In my career and my life, I have walked through all the stages. Now, most of the time, I’m in my Zone of Genius, but that took me a lot of inner work, breaking with inner core beliefs and breaking through multiple glass ceilings. But I did it. With help from agents and professional coaches. And yes, I felt stress, fear, discomfort and resistance. And yes, it was easier to bring myself back down to the thermostat setting that I was familiar with. It’s awful to take big leaps because we have no idea of what will happen. That’s why many artists don’t take any leaps at all.
I invite you now to take a leap of faith.
Consciousness is the answer. And recognizing what keeps you playing small-scale. Shine a light on it. And then… take the leap anyway. This means: post your art on Instagram. Sell your art for a good price. Launch your website and be courageous and proud.
I’d be thrilled to help you with that. For example, with my Super-Startist Membership. Start 2022 with a leap of faith and give your inner artist a boost. Open enrollment for the Super-Startist Membership starts soon, I will keep you in the loop.
Finally, here’s a video for you: Dr. Abraham Twerski on responding to fear and stress. The stimulus behind being able to grow is in fact feeling uncomfortable. Because times of stress (and fear) are also times that are signals for growth.
Let’s create. Together.
Artists in Wonderland
If you’ve been longing for a sacred community where you can create passionately, grow boldy, and connect with art sisters, this is the place for you.