Here we are another beautiful Friday morning and today I have a great article that all artists should read to make sure that mentally you are not sabotaging yourself. This was written by Preston Parrott and really shows us the attitude we need as an artist in todays world.

  When you think of the word 'artist', what do you think of? Write down your first response or image. Do you visualize a flaky, starving, creative genius that is misunderstood by all; do you see a confident, successful person that gets to live a life doing what she/he wants, or do you see someone who is creative but must scrape by to be true to their art?

  Most people don't understand that what you visualize when see an artist will completely affect and drive how your career as an artist will manifest. Saying the words 'I am (fill in the blank)' instantaneously begins to take preconceived notions and ideas about the thing you just asserted you are and put them into reality. So, if you visualize an artist as misunderstood and starving then you need to reconstruct that idea or you will inevitably create that idea of an artist in your own life.

  By examining what your assumptions and perceptions are, you can begin to clear those subconscious thoughts that drive your reality. As artists, we are always hearing comments that feed into that mechanism of identity definition: "Oh, well, you're an artist; you're supposed to be starving", "Would you please donate this to the cause? No you won't get paid but it will give you free publicity!" "This is something you have to do as an artist to get you noticed." All of those statements (and countless more) reinforce an idea that an artist is in an inherently weak position. When people say you have to do free work to get yourself noticed, then they are implying that your work is not worthy of notice on its own and that an artist must sacrifice prosperity in order 'to make it.' As artists we need to recognize these subtle messages and put an end to them in our own selves first and begin to retrain others secondly.

  Artists can and should be prosperous and successful; we are the only ones to blame for not being so and the path to success begins with honesty about the mental blocks we allow in. Once we have the knowledge about those blocks, then we will start to notice all of the other assumptions we have been putting into reality and can begin to change them. As another exercise define success and see how that definition may be playing into your reality. Are you defining a successful artist as famous and incredibly wealthy? That may in itself be a blockage if fame to you seems unreachable; you are forming a more subtle blockage that keeps you from realizing your dream. Success means something different to everyone but knowing what really defines success for you will give you an edge most dream about. Read about successful (not just famous) artists, seek them out and ask them how they did it, look at their lives and see what about them makes them successful and then take that feeling into yourself. Once you begin to embody the feeling of a successful artist (now that you know what that really means to you) then the doors can open but it's your choice to walk through.