An Open Letter To The Struggling Artist

The struggling artist deals with a lot more than people can probably image. This one goes out to all the artist people trying to survive!

Dear Struggling Artist,

Making a living from your passion is tough business. It can be especially discouraging when you are working hard to create and promote your work, but there seems to be no inkling of success in any form coming your way. Whether you are an artist, a musician, a writer, or an actor, working in the arts is a lifelong commitment. Most artists are pursuing their passion, not a job that will bring them financial success. Blood, sweat, and tears goes into making that passion into a career! It’s a struggle and it can be difficult to find the will to carry on trying to make things happen. However, here are a few reasons why you should keep pursuing your craft!

First, no one is as good at creating your work as you.

Every idea you have is unique to you. Even when you are inspired by someone or something else, the end result is always you own interpretation. If you have an idea for a story or a painting and someone else brought it to life, it would not be as good as if you had created it yourself. There is an importance in your creative genius and you should take pride in being able to make something out of nothing.

Next, pursuing your art is what brings you happiness.

Sure, there have been times when booking a gig or getting inspired has made you think about quitting, but I also bet that the idea of not being able to do what you love has driven you crazy. The truth is that the struggle has made you fall in love with your passion more. You probably can’t imagine doing anything else in your life. Every time you think about pursuing something else, you become miserable. And correct me if I’m wrong, but even when you are struggling to get your work out there, you are happier than when you are out there working your day job.

In relation to that point, we are living in the time of social media.

Promoting your work has become easier now than it was a few years back. Share your work with your friends and hopefully they will share it with their friends until it reaches a whole new network of people. Your work deserves to be shared with the world and if you’re lucky, you might be able to impact someone’s life. Struggling doesn’t have to be forever and if you’re surrounded by the right people, your work can reach new heights of success.

Finally, don’t listen to the naysayers.

So many people are quick to project their fears onto those struggling to pursue their passion. This is because going after your dreams is filled with so much uncertainty. It makes people nervous. But you are brave enough to do it because you believe in your work and in yourself. One day, all of your hard work will pay off. You just have to keep moving forward.