There is no brass ring...
 

By watching my wife, who is an author, (and you think WE have a messed up industry!) I learned a valuable lesson:

There is no brass ring

We all seem to think that if we do a certain number of things in a certain order, then we will be "successful" and money will flow and birds will sing and all our problems will go away.

We jump and jump for a measure of success that is actually NOT THERE.

Success comes at us from a number of different directions and it has different meanings for everyone. For some, it is recognition, or money, or simply time to draw or paint...

But ultimately, I think success is measured by how you manage and balance your whole life. After all, we have all heard of people who seemingly have everything - money, power, recognition, and end up blowing their brains out...were they really successful?

The majority of really "successful" people I have met - artists included - are amazingly serene about it all and don't usually think in terms of "success" - they are grateful for what has come to them, and generally happy to just keep pursuing their passion - that thing that makes their heart leap rather than their ego. They are heart centered and not ego centered - serenely indifferent to the standards of others because they have found their "truth" as it were.

Find the thing that makes your heart leap and keep your feet on the ground.

There is no brass ring

I could not agree with you more. :thumbsup:

Nicely put.

Great post. Amen.

Often, when a person finally arrives at some longed for destination, having sacrificed much, they find out it reallly isn't all that they thought it would be and the letdown is huge. We need to find ways to give ourselves the feeling of true success on our own terms rather than looking to outside sources to validate us.

Enjoying the journey, the little things in every day life is what makes one happy - including, for us, slapping some paint around or doing a drawing that pleases us.

Our reward is getting to do what we want and deriving satisfaction in the doing and achieving what we set out to do. The pressure to "succeed" comes from outside sources - needing lists of exhibitions to put on CV's, spouses wanting to see some income, that sort of thing.

Thanks for the reminder to focus on what matters, setting aside any ego driven goals, to enjoy our lives and what we do.

A Mature View
 

Right on! Nothing more needs to be said as you put it perfectly.

Smart man
 

Michael,

You are a smart man, thank you for posting your thoughts. Could you post the same thing about every 6 months? :sunnysmil Just kidding.

Thank you for so eloquently putting down your thoughts on this for us.

Joan

Michael

"Learn from the torrential river water in the spring,
which sings all the way to flow forwardlly".

I sketched this performance, "Liu sanjie",
http://www.wku.edu/~yuanh/China/tales/liusanjie_b.htm
Actress Wang Yujia was willing to sit for a sketch. I wrote a poem in the form of calligraphy to this troupe, which is on tour for the earthquake relief.
http://www.jxjtech.com/sia/Press/2008/poster.htm

I wish I could join this trip:
http://www.getjealous.com/printdiary...e=crystal12356

". . . but for outrageous fortune . . ."
First, one must define success. Good post, Michael!

For me success is contented inner peace. It is being able to pursue one's passion and have a life filled with loving family and friends.

All the other things such as money, material possessions, power, prestige really don't contribute to success. However, my observation of many successful people (my definition) is that the other things seem to fall into place when one has been persistent in pursuing their passion.

George - great post! However, I think there is a "gold" ring for everyone who is successful (again my definition).