1 – Talent

Talent alone is an amazing gift, an extension of your vocabulary to express more than can be described in simple conversation alone. It is one of the hardest things to attach purpose to, if you don’t already know what you want to say or do with it. Once you discover you have talent for something, your greatest joy will come from the freedom to do it. The only thing that will ruin this love – and this has the potential throughout your life as an artist – is when other people attach their own ideas about what should do with that talent. People, from strangers to those closest to you, will tell you to make money, go on reality TV shows, or they’ll tell you what to do and how to do it.

The only problem is, none of them were in the room when you figured out you could do it, they won’t be part of your rehearsals and self-discovery, and they won’t fully experience or understand your low points or let you have your triumphs without telling you to already think about next steps. In reality, your talent already has value that might not have context to whomever is giving you advice, depending on their role and your understanding of what they’re bringing to the table (more on management and other people who can help or hurt later). Most people who will share an opinion or advice with you are doing so based on one viewing. If they’re another artist, it’s more than likely that they’re basing this opinion on their own experience, which doesn’t apply to you. At all.

Two things that I will reinforce with you are important to remember and easy to forget. First, you as an artist and whatever you create has value already. Whatever you create, especially spontaneously, is born from the moment, or at least colored by it, so it has great value because it attaches meaning to life. In these modern, digital times, most everyone who wanders around you – especially in big cities – is preoccupied with little screens or soundtracks that take them somewhere else. Take a moment to divert your attention from the screen. Go ahead. I’ll be here. No, I’m serious. Stop reading for a second, look around you, and take a deep breath.

If the people around you aren’t specifically focused on a task, who is actually focused on the humanity around them? Who is actively pulling attention to the present? That’s what the arts do. If you’re creating something new, personal, and specific, you’re interrupting the overwhelming script of distraction and inspiring your audience to think and feel something new. Anything that reminds people that they’re alive and interacting with the present, anything that informs them that they’re alive has value on immeasurable levels, and that goes for the artist as well. You didn’t receive talent by coincidence or dumb luck. Talent is a life-affirming gift.

The second thing I will tell you is that you have the right to appreciate the present without any thought to the future. All we really have for sure is the present moment. That is our precious time to interact, to communicate with urgency, to take in everything that’s happening around us. The inspired reaction behind people telling you what you should do with your future is really, translated, them putting a greater value on you and your talent than the current context implies. It’s as if they’re saying “I wish more people knew about this artist!” That’s totally valid and a huge compliment when you understand it – they’re not trying to fix you – and it shouldn’t take away from your enjoyment and appreciation for your experience. You’re allowed to enjoy this. It was your path that brought you here anyway, and your journey after this.

There’s a third thing! I totally lied. I want to attach this to your DNA as an artist: The inherent nature of being a creative is that whatever you do is going to be imperfect. That’s why it’s beautiful. You are celebrating the odd and unexpected things that happen to us in life. Listen, if you want perfection, become a mathematician, engineer, or architect. Enjoy the imperfection. That’s where the genius moments of inspiration will come from, and will in turn reflect the human experience. Beyond that, do NOT feel the need to apologize because things didn’t go the way you wanted to, or if internally, you’re comparing yourself with another artist or an idea of what you wanted to do. By apologizing,  you are telling your audience that their instincts for liking what you did are flawed and incorrect. Stop it! Don’t tell them it could have been so much better, or that things went wrong. If they couldn’t tell the difference, then for all you know you could have had moments of all natural, wild and free range genius.

This creative life that has chosen you is a never ending exercise of falling forward, of chasing your center, pursuing truth and asking questions. Some of your instincts will cause you to doubt yourself or compare your life with your friends and family members who may have found what you view as a more stable and enjoyable life. “Maybe I should have settled down,” you might ask yourself. Sometimes during this journey you’ll even quit, and that’s okay, too. It’s all valid. A creative life, however, will put you on the dynamic slant that keeps you leaning, falling, stumbling through and over obstacles – and most importantly, learning – towards the unknown. That’s what makes it so important and exciting.

If it was easy, everyone would be out there doing it. I don’t know if there are enough channels on cable TV that could accommodate that. Consider yourself lucky that you have this gift.

One recurring thing I will put in front of you at this point of every chapter is this: If you are fine with just having talent, be it for writing, singing, musicianship, dancing, telling jokes, painting, balloon twisting, contortion, aerial acrobatics, or whatever makes you happy, you could absolutely just keep doing it without any aspirations to make money or do it for an audience any bigger than your close family and stuffed animals and lead a long and happy life as a creative individual. They are YOUR gifts to do with as you please, and you are the hero of your own story. You could even stop reading this blog if everything has thus far given you the validation you need, and that would be just fine.

If you’re curious about what the next steps some people take are, there’s more to come.