“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
~ Dale Carnegie. 

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” ~ Dale Carnegie. 

I read somewhere that most people give up right before they are about to get what they want. It seems about right.

That has happened to me with painting. I feel it is done and then I just want to make a tweak but that tweak doesn’t come out right and then I try to fix it and it looks even worse. I curse myself for making that alteration. Yet, I had to make it because it just didn’t feel right.

I fool around with it for another hour or so and want to just rip it up, then poof it all comes together. It is at that point that I realize that is the way I create. I have to go through that nerve-wracking stage to get to the butterfly stage. I cannot give up at the “dark night of the soul” stage.

We all have a different process for creating, no matter what it is — writing music, sculpting, painting, singing, drawing, acting. I’m not sure our personal creation process can be altered in any substantial way. Mine has been the same for a long time.

When the going gets tough, I keep going because I know this is the route I have to take, obstacles and all. My own mini heroine’s journey for a piece of art.

The idea to keep going can apply to anything. The job hunt. The house hunt. The rehearsal hunt. The sports hunt. The partner hunt.

It once took me almost 7 years of submissions to get into a place I wanted to be published. Everyone said, “Why do you bother? You should forget about it.” The problem was I could not forget about it. And one day I took a story I’d written one year before, edited it and sent it in, not expecting anything. That was the one the editor chose. What if I had given up on that story?

Is there anything you might consider taking a second look at to see if you might keep going with it?

Thx for stopping by! Giulietta