3 Qualities of Successful Creatives

Moonscape by Lisa Beth Wright

I realized yesterday how fortunate I am to be doing what I love.

Am I rich? Nope.

Am I widely known and popular? Uh-uh.

But I am successful. Why? Because I am happy. I am at a place in my life where I can’t wait to get up in the morning and start creating.

I spend my days writing, doing art, designing, and taking pictures. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Do what you love

I lost a friend a few years ago because I declined to take a job I knew was wrong for me. Not just wrong for me. I knew everything about the position would destroy my mental health.

I flat out lied in the interview when they asked, “How do you handle stress?” I smiled through clenched teeth and told them what I knew they wanted to hear—“I thrive on stress. It energizes me!” What a crock!

They offered me the position. Even with the offer, there were warning signs, so I declined. My “friend” let me know in no uncertain terms that I was crazy. She told me I should do whatever they asked and be happy to do so.

We haven’t spoken since.

I have pursued the creative talents that I love and worked hard to design a freelance career I would love. Has it been easy? No. But if I hadn’t gone down this road, I would have never discovered that I love to write. Writing complements my other creative skills, and the combination has opened up some unique opportunities.

Do what you love. Maybe you have to do it after your full-time job for now. But if you pursue your heart’s desire, your audience will find you.

Believe in yourself

There will always be friends, family, other creatives, and people on social media who will tell you to give up.

“You can’t make a living doing (insert creative pursuit here).”

Plenty of people do. Why not you?

I used to think I wasn’t a good graphic designer. I recently opened up a store on Redbubble, and you know what? My stuff is better than a lot of the things on there. There is also art on there that is better than mine. So what? I just keep creating.

Don’t worry so much about marketing and social media. Spend the bulk of your time creating. Pick 2–3 platforms max that you like and learn those well, but don’t let them consume you.

Spend your social media time building a community. Engage with people and add value to the conversation. Share information and let others get to know you. Customers buy from people they like. Don’t just post a promo and leave.

Here’s the secret. It only takes that one piece of art, that one story, or that one photograph for you to succeed. And the funny thing is, you will never be able to predict which one will help you “make it.”

That brings me to my next point.

Be consistent and persistent

This was the hardest lesson for me.

The most important thing I have learned from reading and listening to videos by creatives is this—success rarely comes quickly.

You can’t write a few articles and hit the big time. You can’t put up 20 designs on a print-on-demand site and start making $1,000 a month. It doesn’t work that way for most people.

The reality is that you have to be both consistent and persistent.

You have to write article after article. You have to post design after design. As you do this, you learn your craft. You learn how to write and design better. You learn the platform and what your audience likes. It is the best experience you can ever gain.

I’m not going to lie, sometimes it sucks. I have wanted to quit many times. It’s easy to blame the platform, the algorithm, or something else tangible. But there is a deeper truth.

If this is the only thing you get from this article, please get this—there is nothing or no one to blame. Not even you. This is life.

And life is about trying, falling, and getting back up to try again.

As you persist, you will move forward. And you will move forward more quickly when you stop looking for someone or something to blame.

This is the best piece of advice I can give you.

Believe in yourself and embrace who you are. You were not put on this planet to please everyone. You are here to fulfill a unique purpose. Don’t let anyone else define you.

Do what you love. Believe in yourself. Be consistent and persistent.

These are 3 qualities of successful creatives.