Take Small Steps to Achieve Large Art Career Goals – 8 Guidelines

In my morning reading today, in reference to the topic of divine order and the miracles in nature, I was reminded that a tall and mighty oak tree starts out as a tiny acorn. Immediately I thought about my coaching clients and how we talk about their dreams and goals that seem so incredibly huge at first and almost unattainable.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by “big” ideas. You can lose sight on the reality that there is beauty and wisdom from embracing small steps that require time, nurturing and patience. This article is about how you can take small steps to achieve large art career goals.

“It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop.” ~ Confucius

8 Guidelines to Help You Achieve Success

1. Get Outside Your Comfort Zone and Embrace Change

It’s easy to become impatient with yourself and circumstances when you have a large goal to reach. You will be challenged with pressure to get outside your comfort zone. For instance, you may have to become more social if you are shy or learn financial skills if you have always hated mathematics. At times, it may be tempting to abandon your dreams and goals and retreat to chance and serendipity. Instead, welcome the challenge with a desire to push against your preconceived boundaries and limitations.

If you have fears around the notion of having to change you’re not alone. In an article in Psychology Today writer by Gustavo Razzetti reminds us, “We fear change because we can’t anticipate the outcome.”   Read “How to Deal With Change and Improve Your Art Career Success”.

Umberto Boccioni was one of the principal figures in shaping the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement. What influenced his art was his critical and rebellious nature, and overall intellectual ability. Despite his short life, his approach to the dynamism of form and the deconstruction of solid mass guided artists long after his death.

2. Set Goals and Stay Focused

Write your goals and activities in a journal or computer file and review them and update them daily. Use inspirational visual reminders about your goals on your phone or bulletin board. Share them with a supportive ally or coach. Before you embark upon a project make sure you have the professional essentials including a time schedule, the best art materials, a way to maintain your mailing list, and a properly functioning art website, to name a few.

Every successful art business begins with having an art business plan. Creating one is easier than you may think when you break it down into four components. Read “How to Create Your Art Business Plan”.

3. Be Optimistic

Creating and achieving art career goals can either be arduous, tedious and frustrating or they can be adventurous, creative and rewarding. The way you perceive these experiences is totally up to you. Consider the fact that every day you wake up and get another opportunity to delve into your deepest desires and formulate new ways to bring them to fruition. Envision your art career goals as flowers flourishing in the garden of your  imagination.

We all get derailed, upset and angry. When that happens it helps to read about other creative individuals who triumphed over insurmountable challenges.  Read “Amazing Artists Who Will Inspire and Motivate You”.

4. Be Practical

The real world requires being practical and having a knowledge of how the art business system works.  Many simple and straightforward facts that stand the test of time are often the ones we forget. You may need to be reminded about the empowering principles for improving your art business practice. Read “The Champion Artist Is An Inspired Realist” and  “Helpful Art Business Facts for Every Professional Artist”.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

5. Celebrate Every Step You Take

When you embark on a fitness routine it may not be possible to do 30 pushups with ease. You start with what is possible and add a little more each day or each week.

The same is true with your art career goals. Be kind to yourself and reward yourself for every one of your efforts taken as well as your accomplishments.

Take a look at your art resume from the perspective of how far you have come from when you first started as an art professional. What achievements are you most proud of? Respect yourself for the amount of time and effort that was required of you to attain them.

Give yourself the proverbial “pat on the back.” Place visual and tangible signs of your accomplishments in view at all times. Frame your awards and letters of acceptances. Take time to enjoy the sweet taste of success and enjoy the beautiful view of every hill and mountain you have climbed. Read “12 Ways to Nurture Your Inner Artist”.

6. Eliminate Your Procrastination Habit

If you suffer from this malady you’re not alone. Procrastination is a habit that haunts many creative individuals and threatens career success. Is procrastination preventing you from achieving your art career goals? If you have this habit, it is most likely causing  career sabotage.

View the solution to this problem as developing better time-management skills.  Strive to achieve balance between your personal and career activities. Read “Time Saving Tips For Busy Artists” and “Ten More Time-Saving Tips For Busy Artists”.

7. Avoid the Perfectionism Trap

Confucius wrote, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” His words remind us to avoid being a perfectionist and stop demanding perfect results. Many great masters, from Caravaggio to Picasso, painted over their original, often failed paintings. Conservators have detected many earlier attempts gone awry. Read “Release Perfectionism and Celebrate Mistakes In Your Art Career”.

8. Don’t Give Up!

Many great artists often failed at their attempts. To succeed you must make many attempts at trial and error and learn from each one as you move forward.  Accept that you are human, try the best you can, plant affirmations in your subconscious, and trust your beliefs to do the rest.  Read “Advice from Artists Who Encourage You To Never Give Up!” 

Read “How to Handle Rejection As An Artist”

“That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too… Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. ~ Goethe