Make More Art: A Career in the Arts

Book 3: A Career in the Arts

The life of a prolific creator is a journey of false starts, new beginnings, detours, dead ends, debacles, and events that force you to deviate from your itinerary. I never planned to be an author. I made plans for a normal life. But two recessions forced me to deviate from my itinerary. You couldn’t have planned such bad timing if you tried. It forced me to take the scenic route.

Obscurity

Lingering in obscurity is a rite of passage for every iconic artist. Nobody falls out of the womb and into a leading role in an Oscar-winning film. But if you’re prolific, you’ll reduce the likelihood and length of your obscurity.

Struggle

I said in my first book, “Art that rewards its creator longer after the average person would quit is admired, but rarely encouraged.” You have to let go of many of the things you’ve been conditioned to believe. The beauty of being prolific is that there’s no expiration date for your most ambitious dreams.

Success

“We don’t make movies so we can make money. We make money so we can make more movies” — Walt Disney

I had my first taste of commercial creative success in 2013. Then I proceeded to fuck it all up in 2014. I…