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Many artists have a dream that not only will they someday become rich and famous from their art; they’ll also reach a point where they no longer have to deal with fear. Unfortunately, says entrepreneur, author and creativity guru Lee Silber, fear never really disappears. Silber, author of six books, including “Organizing from the Right Side of the Brain” and “Career Management for the Creative Person,” does have some good news: You can move beyond fear and learn to lessen its effects on your life. In an exclusive interview with Studio Friday, Silber offers these tips:

Accept that everyone feels fear. Whether you’re a full-time professional photographer or a closet collage artist, you are going to face fear of one sort or another, says Silber. Don’t think that one day you will move beyond fear; the types of fear you face may change, but it will still be there. “Although it helps to say, ‘I’ve done this,’ it can be harder,” he says. Suddenly, you’ve got a reputation to protect, an audience to please, a career to promote – and those things bring a whole new set of challenges with them.

Recognize that most fear for newer artists comes from fear of being judged. This is why so many artists have trouble with procrastination, Silber explains. “Once it’s finished, it will be judged,” he says. As a result, if you can just keep your painting or jewelry to yourself, incomplete, it will never have face all those possibly disapproving faces.

Figure out why you create. What drives your art? Do you have something to say? Do you want recognition? Do you do it for the money? Most artists start because they can’t help it – there’s something in them that must come out, whether or not the finished project ever see the light of day. The benefits they receive from publication, sales, etc., is just icing on the cake. If you are creating first and foremost for you, keep that in mind, suggests Silber.

Focus on the process. Take the pressure off your creative process, Silber urges. If every time you sit down to draw you tell yourself that this has to be sales-worthy, you’re putting undue stress on yourself. “The answer is to not focus on the outcome, but to focus on the process,” says Silber. Tell yourself, “I’m doing this for me.” Don’t expect anything commercial from your creations at all while you’re creating. Focus on the fun and joy the process brings you.

Let the muse guide you. While some creative-types can be very disciplined about their art, more are inspired by the muse, says Silber. Put your materials out where they’re easily accessible when inspiration strikes, and work when you’re in the mood. A benefit of taking advantage of small blocks of time is that you can get into your art before your logical brain has a chance to get in the way.

Set goals. Know what you’re aiming for, whether it’s becoming a self-supporting artist, writing a book, or taking part in a craft show. Even if you don’t have things spelled out in such detail, Silber says you should still set goals – create a bulletin board above your desk with inspirational pictures, quotes, or photos that represent what you’re aiming for. “It gives you focus,” he says. One challenge for creative people is that everything is interesting, so it’s easy to get off-track. This way, you have some sort of criteria for judging what to let into your life. You can ask, “Is this going to help me, or is this going to sidetrack me?” he says. “It helps you push a lot of things to the side.”

Give yourself a break. While Silber is a big proponent of setting goals, he also believes that there is plenty you can do to move yourself towards your goal that doesn’t involve actual creating. Administrative tasks like updating your website, or housekeeping items like filing or running errands can occupy your left brain, leaving your right (creative) brain free to do what it does best – dream, imagine, create.

Give yourself deadlines. One thing that keeps Silber on track is the external deadlines his publisher gives him. He knows he has to get moving at a certain point, or face the consequences. “A lot of artists need that drop-dead deadline,” he says. He suggests instead of punishing yourself, reward yourself when you complete a piece or make a self-imposed deadline. Buy a new piece of photographic equipment or a new software program – “Something that’s not just frivolous, but something that relates to your goal,” he suggests.

For more information on Lee’s books, or to read his blog, visit him online at www.creativelee.com.

SOUND ADVICE
Making Better Decisions

Nobody would argue if you said that life is more complicated today than ten years ago. We have more choices than ever before. The amount of channels available on your television are staggering. The volume of information just a few mouse clicks away is amazing and daunting, all at the same time. The opportunities available to a creative, enterprising person are endless. That’s why now more than ever focus is so important. If you let your mind (and time) wander you may never find your way back to what means most to you.

Thankfully, there is a simple solution. If you ask yourself the following question every time you are about to make a decision, you will be blown away at how you can cut through the clutter and get to the good stuff. This question can guide you to be more focused, efficient and successful. It also reduces stress because it eliminates many of the things that would otherwise overwhelm you. So, what is the question? Here it is:

“Does this decision bring me closer or farther away from my goals?”

If you ask yourself this for every action you take you can focus in on the priorities and reduce the time wasters. As I have said (and many others, too) you are where you are and where you will be because of the decisions you make. To make better decisions, you need a dream, desire or direction to guide your choices. Where do you want to be in a month? Year? Five years? Now do the things that will help you get there on a daily basis and you will be moving in that direction a lot faster and easier.

ACTION ITEM: If you would like be more focused and would like a free copy of my Ultimate Daily Planner Pad send me a self-addressed stamped envelope and I’ll send a sample for free. Send your SASE to: LEE SILBER, 822 Redondo Court, San Diego, CA 92109.

For more information on Lee’s books, or to read his blog, visit him online at www.creativelee.com.

Enjoy reading this article from Robert Fritz, author of the classic bestseller  The Path Of Least Resistance.

You can read his article "The Soul of an Artist"  here.
It is beautifully written and will give you the clarity and insight that indeed you are on the right path. So very insightful!

Read Hugh's inspiring and wonderful 'How To Be Creative" Manifesto here!
There is a PDF version of it that can be found here at ChangeThis.com!

QUICK QUIZ
What Motivates You?

If nobody was around to judge your answer, which of the following motivators would you admit makes you want to do more, be more, have more and want more?

Respect and Admiration Of Others • Wanting To Prove Others Wrong • To Feel Superior • Approval From Your Parents • To Accomplish More Than Someone You Know • To Be Loved • For Revenge • To Be Appreciated • To Be Envied • To Feel Better About Yourself  • To Feel Safe And Secure • Other

Read the article (below) to see what all this means. 


FEATURE ARTICLE
Pushing The Right Buttons

It’s time for the truth to come out. When many of us are asked what motivates us, we will reply with the thing the person asking wants to hear—“I want to make more money to provide for my family,” or “I want to lose weight to become healthier,” or “I want to be famous so I can make a difference in the world.” Sure, these are real motivating factors, but I bet there are also other (more selfish) reasons behind a person’s motivation to do something. You know what, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, I want to encourage you to take a long hard look at why you want what you want, and embrace it.

For example, some of us are highly competitive and rise to the occasion when challenged by someone else—whether they know they are in a race with us or not. If you want to be the highest paid in your field, what’s wrong with that? If you want to own a bigger or better home than your sister, who is to say that’s a bad thing? (As long as you can afford it.) Maybe you look at your friends and want to be the first to get an advance degree. Good for you. If you need to be in competition with coworkers, colleagues or even cousins, and that’s what fuels your fire, I say use it to your advantage. (You never know, it may spur the other person to want to do more, too.)

Some of us have something to prove—to ourselves or more likely, to others. If an agent told you to give it up and get a real job because you don’t have what it takes to make it as a writer/artist/musician/performer, are you the type that wants to prove them wrong? If your friends and family laughed when you showed them your invention or clever idea, do you want to “show them”? If people put you down for something you can correct, will you do it and then when you finally do accomplish the “impossible”, make sure to show and tell them about it? Proving other people are wrong and that you can do more than they think you can is highly motivating for many. Maybe you were dumped and workout like mad to be in the best shape of your life, hoping to “bump into” your ex to show them the new you. Hey, it’s better than doing nothing and being depressed.

They say you either rebel against your parents or you become them. There is something else some of us want when it comes to our parents—we want their approval. Having a parent say they are proud of your accomplishments can be the driving force behind a lot of people’s need to succeed. You will hear that you should live your life for yourself and not worry so much what others think, but you can’t control what you feel. Some of people want to either eclipse their parents success, or have them say they are wonderful. If this desire to make your parents proud pushes you to past your own idea of what’s possible, I say good.

Some of us will continue to rise up to reach new heights in our lives in an effort to gain the respect of our peers. They say you need to earn respect, and that’s what drives a lot of us to want to win awards, create great works, climb the corporate ladder and strive for fame and fortune. Wanting others look up to you can be the ticket to tapping your talents and getting outside of your comfort zone to promote your ability. The feeling that you are admired and respected by others can be the missing ingredient to getting what you want.

Most of us need to be loved—or at least liked. We do all kinds of things we never would if there wasn’t a reward at the end as powerful as love. Think about it, what would you do for love? Exactly, almost anything. Admitting this is not easy. We know that people should love/like us for who we are, and they will. Yet, we may believe that we will attract more and better people if we are somehow better in some way or at some thing. If this need to be loved pushes you to make (needed) improvements in your life, then you have already won. For example, if a performer seeks the love of others through applause or positive reviews, and they rehearse like never before to get it, is that such a bad thing? If you want people to fall in love with your works and this pushes you to do more market research to figure out what clients want, where’s the harm in that?

There are other reasons why people push themselves to be the best they can be and I say as long as it doesn’t damage others and is ethical, use whatever works when it comes to motivating yourself. Maybe you don’t tell others the true reason behind your newfound passion to pursue something, your inner motivation is for you and you alone. I just want you to look at your true feelings and embrace them. You are not a bad person if your desire to help others comes after wanting to be recognized for your talents. This makes you an honest person, actually. Yes, you should give back but if that doesn’t do it for you, then go with whatever works to get you where you want to be. 

I anticipate a lot of you may disagree with my position on finding the fuel to ignite your passion, and that’s okay. In my experience, the missing piece in motivating myself (and others) was being true to what really mattered to me. It’s probably not popular to admit that what you really want is not exactly based or backed by altruistic reasons and what really gets you going is something others may see as selfish. I’m willing to put it in writing (and take the heat) and hope that someone reading this finally finds the key to motivating themselves using whatever means most to THEM. Unless you are Mother Theresa or a martyr, you may want good things to happen to you just because. You know what, you deserve it.

ACTION ITEM: Pick a goal and come up with five (real) reasons why you want it without worry what others would think if they knew. Ask yourself, “How would I feel if I had this or done that and what is my real motivation for wanting this goal?”

—By Lee Silber

Visit his site at: http://www.creativelee.com
Email to: leesilber@earthlink.net