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Luck & Magic
Thriving as a creative: Skill, passion & uncountable hours are not enough
I know how to freelance. My last regular paycheck was in 1982. I still miss those like I miss the palm trees of California. It’s a fruitless yearning that needs occasional snapping out of.
How? Maturity has rewritten my priority list to be realistic, and I learned to be okay with that.
The other morning I was on the front porch of my home in a northeastern forest chatting with the 19-year old who rents a room from my neighbor. Zoe is an aspiring musician who works in a vintage music shop and trades cleaning my airBnB room for rides. I asked her, “So Zoe, what steps are you taking toward your goal?”
With a sad expression and slumping shoulders Zoe mumbled about her latest effort being poorly received or rejected or something. I snapped at her like I was chiding my own young self. I saw her as me in 1983 moaning on about delusional dreams of instant fame & acclaim being dashed for all time.
“Hey Zoe. Sit up straight. Shoulders back. Chin up, tits out. You submitted something. That’s great. You just got one of the hundred rejections it will take to get you another step up a tall ladder out of a crowd of a million young people. People just like you who all want to make a living doing something creative. They can be really talented, but almost every…
