👎 I failed in becoming a pro artist
#20 Bites of my artist life, episode 2
Dear little demon,
Welcome to the edition #20 of the Art Missive! I am more than happy to announce that we are more than 3,000 demons in this newsletter. Whether you have been here from the beginning or you have just arrived, thank you so much for reading ❤.
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In this Art Missive
1. Introduction: another episode of “Bites of my life”
2. In the previous episode
3. I failed
4. Did I really fail?
5. A fresh start
6. Summary
Another episode of “Bites of my life”
Three months ago, In the first episode, I shared my plan to become a full-time artist within 12 months, and many of you requested an update. Well, the time has come!
In this 20th edition of the Art Missive, I share my progress in my mission to become a professional artist.
Whether you make art as a hobby or as a career, this episode is for you.
Today, I talk about :
👉 How artists can reach their goals through deadlines and planning
👉 How to take a fresh start after failing
👉 My plan to become a full-time artist
👉 How to re-motivate to pursue your artist dreams when you feel down.
In the previous episode
Here's a summary of the previous episode that aired in February:
👉 Goal. I gave myself a 12-month timeline to become a full-time artist.
👉 Deadline. By the end of the first quarter of 2024, I aim to have everything settled to start earning the minimum wage in France with my art (which means achieving a professional level in art and building a solid strategic plan to earn money as an artist).
👉 Steps to achieve. I have broken down my 12-month journey into different sub-goals including:
completing the art course that will get me a professional level in art
nurturing my community on Instagram and in my newsletter
testing different income streams for artists, making mistakes and experimenting to understand what income stream to target for 2024
gradually phasing out my other business that is not related to art.
This was the commitment I made to myself.
Now, 3 months later, how did I fare?
I failed
My main goal was to make progress in my training and develop my art skills.
The first step to a successful business is to become good at what you do (I learned it from my previous business). That's why my top priority is to reach a professional level in art and become the best artist I can be.
Based on my original plan, I should have completed at least 40% of my course by now. But the truth is… I've only completed less than 15%.
This setback has significant negative consequences on my mission:
👉 I'm now 4 months behind schedule while educating myself is not something I can rush or skip.
👉 I have to adjust my deadline from the first quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2024.
In conclusion, I have had to adjust my timeline and now I know that I won't be able to make a comfortable living from my art until August 2024 instead of April 2024.
Takeaways for you:
1️⃣ Setting goals and deadlines is crucial for achieving improvement in your art and in life. When it comes to long-term goals, it's essential to establish sub-goals with deadlines to track your progress and make adjustments if necessary. Thanks to my provisional plan, I am able to identify my setbacks and make necessary adjustments efficiently.
2️⃣ In order to achieve your goals as an artist, there are some essential steps that cannot be skipped. Continuously learning and striving for improvement in your craft is one of them. It is okay to postpone a deadline when it comes to something as important as laying the foundations for your success as an artist.
3️⃣ It's silly, but hard to truly apply : you can't succeed at multiple things at once. If you're an artist, you might feel it: you often have many projects going on at the same time and the feeling of not making progress on any of them. The reason is simple: if you want to become good at something or reach a goal, just do that one thing. It's a bit extreme because not many people can focus on just one thing. But I've noticed that beyond three projects, I'm no longer effective.
4️⃣ Sometimes, you won’t achieve your sub-goals, but this doesn't necessarily mean that you won't achieve your ultimate goal. When this happens, take a step back and analyze why you are behind schedule. By doing so, you'll be able to make the necessary adjustments and start again on the right track.
👇 Let’s see the reasons why I failed 👇
Did I really fail?
There are two reasons why I could not focus on my art training:
👉 I move out in Paris
👉 I launched the “Instagram Growth Guide for Artists” project.
I want to analyse if it was worthy:
Moving to Paris:
❌ I couldn't focus on my art training and had to postpone my ultimate deadline.
❌ I was tired for several weeks and couldn't work as much as I needed to.
✅ However, I now have an art studio, which is a dedicated workspace for making art and becoming a better artist.
✅ I feel better and I am way more productive than when I used to draw on the floor of my room.
Launching the Instagram Growth Guide for Artists project:
❌ For six weeks, I have to focus on writing the guide and cannot go back to my training until the end of May, which has made me really behind schedule.
❌ I don't have much time to draw and can't create more than one drawing a week.
✅ On the positive side, I tested one income stream for artists.
✅ I earned money and was able to step back from my previous business earlier than expected.
✅ I also created a strong and genuine bond with some of my followers.
Takeaways for you:
5️⃣ Most of the time, the best thing to do is to stick to your plan to achieve your artist goals. But sometimes, it may be wiser to do something that was not planned.
6️⃣ Your plan will not always be able to predict the unexpected. To decide whether or not to prioritize what was planned, ask yourself if the unexpected action will help you move forward with your project or not? Yes, I had to postpone my deadline, but the actions I focused on still allowed me to make progress on my final project.
7️⃣ As an artist who struggles with productivity, I've found that having a dedicated art space can make a huge difference. By eliminating distractions and surrounding yourself with art inspirations, the act of creating becomes simpler and more exciting. This can lead to significant progress in your artistic journey. Soft skills such as productivity are often neglected by artists. I don't regret pushing back my schedule to focus on something I should have done a long time ago: creating a healthy environment for my creativity.
Starting fresh
My report for this episode 2 of "Bites of My Life":
❌ Completing the art course that will get me a professional level in art
✅ Nurturing my community on Instagram and in my newsletter
✅ Testing different income streams for artists, making mistakes and experimenting to understand what income stream to target for 2024
✅ Gradually phasing out my other business that is not related to art.
The next steps for me are obvious now. After completing the 'Instagram Growth Guide for Artists' project, I need to stop multitasking and focus on three things:
👉 70% of my time to completing this damn art training
👉 20% of my time to nurturing my precious community
👉 10% of my time to experimenting with new income streams for artists.
Takeaways for you:
8️⃣ To start fresh, evaluate what has been accomplished and what has not. This will allow you to identify the next steps to take.
9️⃣ Don't be hard on yourself. Don't waste time blaming or feeling guilty. Nobody succeeds 100% of the time with their plans, that's the nature of plans. Focus your energy on finding a solution and planning it.
🔟 Take a shot of motivation! Before embarking on your artistic mission again, re-motivate yourself. Visualize your ultimate goal, seek inspiration, or treat yourself to a little chocolate cake. Something that helps me a lot is talking to a friend about my progress. Explaining what I have achieved, what I have not achieved, and how I am getting back on track. Discussing your plan with a supportive person will motivate you... And this is exactly what I am doing right now, with you!
Summary
1. Deadlines are all artist’s best friends. While art is something very hard to measure, deadlines help you track your progress and adjust what needs to be adjusted.
2. It is rare, but sometimes going against your initial plan is what will bring you closer to your goals.
3. It’s ok to fail in achieving some of your goals. It’s not ok to give up on your artistic dream because of that.
4. To take a fresh start, think about sharing your progress with a friend. This will help you think straight and keep you motivated.