“Think of life and the world as a wall and that we’re all climbing that wall. So just put one hand in front of the other, keep your on on the prize, and then get there. And then turn around and help the other people — because you’re already there.” ~ Laura Benanti.
If I want to achieve something, I turn it into a prize and put my eyes on it. Everything I do moves me toward that vision.
Does it work?
Absolutely.
But you need to keep your eyes on the prize. And that can be hard for people, which is why we have such a high give-up rate. Many quit right before they could reach the prize.
I’ve kept my eyes on a variety of prizes: historic preservation, stories, art work, talks and now my book.
I know there are folks who seem to whip out books left and right. After what I’ve been through getting mine to print, it takes a lot of energy and enthusiasm to keep it going.
After I finished the copy, I took a challenge from my publisher to create divider pages and create artwork for that.
At first I thought I’d do some abstract paintings. Quick and dirty.
Then as I started to do it, a different vision emerged — of illustrations. Way harder. They all had to come from my imagination and I started with the perceived hardest one first.
I knew that once I conquered that one, the others would be easier. And I was half right. Most were easier but still hard at the same time because they were imagination driven and each one was completely different. Oddly, the one I thought would be the easiest turned out to be the hardest. Not sure how I rated them to begin with, but I was creatively off the mark.
In the end, I was glad I accepted my publisher’s challenge. It made the book a better version of itself and me a better artist than before I started this process.
Nothing like jumping without a net to learn how to create your own.
Sometimes, I thought. What am I doing, making my life more complicated with these paintings? Actually, I was making my life better.
I pushed myself creatively into a who new realm. The book almost defies convention because it straddles three different areas, which I love because I am constantly seeking new way to further my own creativity envelope.
The book is finished and we are ready to send it to the printer. COVID has even made that process take a lot longer than expected. Another obstacle that required me to change the publication date.
But I just keep moving and going with the flow while keeping my eyes on the prize.
Here are my top 3 tips for staying on course.
#1 Pick a prize you truly, madly, deeply want to achieve.
#2 Chunk it down into manageable sub sections.
#3 Push through the times when you want to quit.
If you take these three tips to heart, I can almost guarantee you will achieve whatever you want.
Feel Alive!
Giulietta