#1: PASSION
Passion is that "demonic compulsiveness" that John Gardner talks about in his book, "On Becoming a Novelist."
It's what fires any creative person, something that gets you angry, or
something you love and want to share. It's ambition, a vision for your
future, dim though it may be. That vision leads to setting goals,
long-term goals (I want to be a photographer) and short-term goals,
(what camera do I buy?). I ask everyone I interview, have you written
down your goals? Most people have not. Have you? Do you know where you'd
like to be in five years? I do. I have written it down, so that at
year's end, or on some quiet evening, I can look at what I've written
and reflect on where I've been, and where I'm going … how far along the
path I've come and how far I've got to go. Often, I realize I've reached
my goals and need to be dreaming about new horizons, new challenges and
new goals. Write down your goals. They will tell you what to do for the
short-term goals … what books to buy, skills to develop, workshops to
take, exercises to do to get better.
#2: ABILITY TO ACCEPT A RISK
I do not know anyone who has succeeded who has not been able to assess
and take a risk and then live with the consequence - success or failure.
Risk avoidance is a sure way to remain mediocre; being safe does not
promote personal growth. Failure or making a mistake is not a bad thing;
it's proof you were exploring new ways to do something, and that's
better than safe success. We learn from our mistakes, not our successes.
Really creative people embrace risk. They can sustain a high level of
ambiguity; they do not need to know where they are. They do not mind
being lost, for they call it just taking the longer, more interesting
way around.
#3: HIGH SELF-ESTEEM
You think well of yourself. You are not boastful or egotistical, but do
have an honest understanding of your talents, handicaps and are working
toward getting better.
#4: PERSISTENCE
You have just done this long enough. How long is long enough? Well, it
will take 10 years. I have asked hundreds of accomplished photographers,
writers, filmmakers, painters and musician how long it took before they
felt they were able to speak from a source within. Ten years was been
their unanimous answer.
If it takes 10 years, then how do you spend the time wisely? It will
take at least two years to acquire 70 percent of the craft you will need
to work in your medium. It will take another eight years to acquire the
next 20 percent of your craft. At 90 percent, you will have mastered
your craft, but there is that 10 percent that will take a lifetime to
acquire. In the meantime, while working to master your craft (the
technical skills and processes for working in your medium) you will also
be learning and acquiring a personal vision, your ability to see, to
observe, to create and discover things. This is difficult at first, but
the older you get the wiser and more aware you become. Craft and vision
are your tools for inner exploration.
Persistence takes discipline. Discipline is simply doing what you know
you need to do, even though you don't feel like doing it. The first
thing is knowing what to do. Most people do not know. You are reading
this, so you are interested in finding out what to do. Make a list.
Next, find the willpower to do what's on the list. This is the most
difficult part of all the keys - finding the positive willpower to do
what you know you need to do. We all wrestle with discipline for it does
not come easily, not even for the most successful.
#5: BEING NICE TO WORK WITH
Why is being nice important? Because it will be other people who will
help you acquire the craft, help you discover and develop your vision,
give you a job, introduce you to opportunities. People want to help
others, but only if they show a willingness to work, to contribute and
are nice to have around. People want to have positive, enthusiastic
people around, people who will solve problems, not create them.
#6: WHO YOU KNOW
If you are nice to work with, the next will follow. You need to know and
be known by people who will help you, hire you, buy your work, and give
you advice. Here is a list of people you need to know and be known by:
Good Teachers - People who know what you need to know and can teach it to you in a way that you learn it..
Peers - Your friends and classmates, people who are on the same rung of the ladder as you, who are striving as you are.
Masters - People who are successful in their careers who can
look at your work, your process and your career and give you valuable
feedback, feedback you will accept and follow.
Mentors - A master with whom you have established a working
relationship, someone who is wiser, accomplished and will help you
understand the limits and possibilities of your projects, your process
and your creative life.
Your Clients - The people who will buy your work, give you assignments, hire you.
#7: MASTER YOUR CRAFT
Learn a craft, so you have a tool with which to earn a living. This tool
can also be used to explore life - outwardly and spiritually inwardly -
as you search your soul for the reasons of your existence.
#8: TALENT
Talent is the last thing you need. You have to have some of it, but you
do not need a lot. Too much talent is often a handicap. Things come too
easily and there is little incentive to push, to make use of the talent.
I know highly talented musicians who refuse to perform in public,
photographers who are so arrogant no one wants them around, filmmakers
whose egos are so inflated they are a pain to deal with, and others who
are so impatient at getting what they want, they never master anything
and, therefore, never do succeed. I prefer to surround myself with
positive, successful people, young people who are enthusiastic even
though they have yet to find or develop what talent they may have.
A talent is the natural ability to do something extraordinary. We all
can do a lot, but some people have been gifted with talents that go
beyond what others can do. What are you talented at? Do you know?
Success is not a matter of being talented. Notice it is last on the
list. A little bit of talent, combined with the other seven keys, will
lead you to success. I know many people who are talented, but lack one
or more of the other seven keys and they fail to succeed.
Do not blame your lack of success on your lack of talent. It will be
your attitude that will determine your altitude, not your talent or lack
thereof.
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