My perception of living as an artist has changed greatly over the years. When you are first bitten by the bug that you know you will pursue this insane endeavour it is almost purely romantic. The fantasy of being on set, rehearsing plays and living the creative life. Then there is the crushing experience of rejection, student loans and side hustles that burn you out. The conversations begin to percolate on how to have a better work/life balance and a 9-5 doesn’t seem so bad. Yet you don’t want to give up on your dream.
Since my work is collaborative- as a coach, direct, producer and an actor. I am fortunate to have friends and colleagues that have vastly different points of view on their journey. I also committed the second half of my life to personal development because I see spiritual growth and artistic expression as intertwined.
So how do we not only survive but thrive in this chaotic career and live a life with purpose? In my experience those that have achieved this have a few essential principles that they all share. They are grounded, disciplined, structured and steady. This feel counterintuitive for an artist but it truly is the way to artistic freedom.
My friend and author Robert Glover writes every morning for hours and creates a space for other writers to do the same. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron has a 12 week structure of daily writing and exercises- in my 4 years of leading that group it was really only the ones that showed up each day and completed the work that saw the magical revelations.
When we are more emotionally and heart led a person it is so necessary to live a more grounded life to balance it out and channel it. I see in executive I coach the opposite is true- they need to shake their patterns to express their vulverbilty.
Moving forward this ever-constant growth and forging ourselves out of our comfort patterns is what I have seen in those that have careers I admire and try to emulate. And somewhere along the way we realize we’ve built a life we are proud of and have given the best of ourselves through our work to the world.
