Most of us are trying to be like people we weren't wired to be like, and then sit around wondering why we’re not as successful as they are.
This is why I can’t help but cringe when I see an artist walk onstage at open mic night, wearing their singular influence on their sleeve. This phenomenon is the ugly twin of a cover band.
(“Okay, already. We know you like Bob!”)
Maybe that’s cruel. I know we all have to start somewhere, and I’m not down on newbies. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. No one is without influence, and we are all derivative of something. The thing is…
Artistry comes from taking various ingredients to make your own soup. Expression comes from accepting and speaking your authentic truth.
It’s easy for an artist, a side hustler, or even an entrepreneur to bypass this process entirely, thinking they are shortcutting their path to success. But they are really shooting themselves in the foot. Maybe they’re not missing out on the success or the money (debatable), but they are almost certainly missing out on themselves.
It’s so often said that it’s about the journey and not the destination. I agree, because most of my achievements weren’t met with rousing fanfare. I had to be intentional about stopping and celebrating myself, because if I couldn’t show myself the way, who would follow?
Where are you trying to get to? If the destination is worthwhile, then surely the journey is too.
Sure, it would be nice to be rich, to be famous, to be as fit as a Spartan. Most people who want those things agree that the sooner they can get them, the better. Maximizing time and freedom is the goal.
But without the challenges, the obstacles, the character-building hardships, do you even have the container to hold all that you wish to create? Wouldn’t you just as quickly lose all you’ve gained if you weren’t properly equipped to handle it?
Morgan Freedman was 50 when he achieved his first Hollywood breakthrough. Abraham Lincoln was 52 when he was inaugurated as the 16th President. Colonel Sanders sold his “Secret Recipe” at 65.
Things don’t always happen on a preset timeline. Because it’s not about time as much as it is the connection you have with yourself.
So, the question is – who are you?
There is a you apart from programming, expectation, and comparison. Getting in touch with this you should be your greatest undertaking, because that’s what it actually means to value yourself.
I used to read books to learn how to be more successful or help other people. Now I read them because I enjoy them and I want to.
I used to follow other people’s methods because I thought they were smarter. And I met a lot of great people and received world-class training. But their processes didn’t work for me, and I gave them more than a fair shake. I don’t follow other people’s formulas anymore.
I used to compare. Look at where others were versus where I was. How much work I’d produced versus how much they produced. What I got and what they got. I don’t see the point anymore, because they’re not in my shoes, and I'm not in theirs.
I have fully embraced my journey. I no longer expect it to look like someone else’s.
Artists fail because they’re trying to duplicate someone else’s success, when that was never a possibility to begin with. It’s their authentic expression that’s wanted.
What ingredients go in your soup? What is the authentic truth you want to express? https://davidandrewwiebe.com/the-1-reason-artists-fail/
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