Measuring Creative Success

Measuring Creative Success

Surfer in the warm California sun... making his own way across the waves.

Recently an article on my cell phone news feed caught my eye. It was entitled: “How to Stop Chasing Someone Else’s Idea of Success”, (John Hall, Inc.com). As my thumb hovered over the link, my thoughts flashed back to when I first began my illustration career…

Fresh out of college, I was familiar with all the signs of a successful illustrator, the career paths of prominent artists, the awards and honors which indicated peer approval and guaranteed "plum" future assignments. Through the influence of instructors who juggled teaching while actively pursuing illustration careers, these accolades became my guideposts and goals.

It took some years, but as I focused on expressing myself and improving the quality of my work, these goals melted into the background. At some point, it hit me that working for the awards and recognition wasn’t that important to me after all. In fact, they had never really been my goal; I had just co-opted the goals of my instructors. It was a profound moment. But, I knew I was on the right track because art buyers were calling me specifically for my style. It turns out, being “true to yourself” draws people to your work. Imagine that!

… I moved on to the next story in my news feed. It wasn’t that the article I mention didn’t have valuable information. It was just that, though I did appreciate the reminder, I had already internalized the lesson behind its title. A warm glow of contentment filled my thoughts, and I was quietly grateful that I’d found my way. Through trial and error, I had defined my own measure of success all those years ago. I'm still endeavoring, sometimes struggling, to apply it to new creative pursuits. 

I would like to point out the irony of this article's title, however. The author is giving advice, from his perspective, on how not to be swayed by someone else’s perspective: priceless.