Struggling with choosing my ONE thing - Could use some external perspectives.

[Lexauton]

I just finished reading the book THE ONE THING by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.

I'm now in a state where I find my chest tight with the same encumbering fear I get when I think about narrowing down my focus to ONE purpose for my life.

The concept is simple, but applying it is not. I have seen mild success in many aspects of my life, but none that have permitted me to do more than make enough money to survive...I've never done more than 30K a year, and I'm 27 years old.

In order to give the best context I can without writing my entire autobiography, I'll recant a few pivotal moments (now that I'm editing this particular post, I don't feel like I've truly had my FTE...)

Anyhow, the book basically postulates that in order to achieve extraordinary results, we have to focus deeply (something I have struggled with greatly) on the ONE activity that will be the progenitor of our goal(s).

I'll do my best not to let this veer too far into "rant" territory, but I've had this issue for a while, and I'd like to gather some feedback from the wonderful minds that populate this forum.

My main motivation for posting this, is an organized and yet cathartic eruption. I want to burn off the impurities that have been indwelt into my being and have held me back time and time again.

Read on and you'll see why I've been pretty much broke my whole life, and how I'm aiming to change that.

You see, I'm an artist by trade - I went to school for animation, and ended up as a freelance illustrator/concept artist.

But the problem is that I love creating art and practicing it for my sake, and tend to start sabotaging my successes when I start performing it as a service for others.

In the second quarter of 2014 I was working in-house as an illustrator at a local studio. I was making 1k a week (the most I've made to date) and was miserable. I got home and was spent on levels I didn't know existed.

Even before I had a way to articulate the SCRIPT, I could feel it tugging at my autonomy, and basically gave into depression. This spell of sorrow caused me to put in my two-week's notice after 3 months.

Fast forward to 2015. I'm one of the 12 Illustrators from around the world to get a plane ticket to California Via the L.Ron Hubbard Association and their yearly contest. I didn't win at grand finals, but I got to meet some of the industry greats, network a bit, learn a lot, and received external validation for the work I'd put into my craft.

Even after that, I still couldn't bring myself to work more than 40 hours per week as a professional artist. Long periods in front of the screen, client feedback, low pay, and a plethora of other negatives just kept burning me out (depression + quitting current projects.)

A "dream job" in that industry would leave me feeling dead inside before long. This is something I struggle to come to terms with, as younger me really wanted to be a highly-regarded fantasy artist.

My path also forked into music as well.

In 2016 I started making small profit via art courses and my YouTube Channel began to grow. I was dating a girl who was the lead singer of a stoner rock band, and when I saw her perform, something inside me shifted.

I was awed, yet envious. She and her band were slaying it. During their set list, for some reason, I had this deep regret that I hadn't chosen music as my creative pursuit.

Seeing her under the vivid lights performing her heart out while people banged their heads - this made my art seem so droll. She was an entity, that for a brief series of songs transcended herself as a person, and became this on-stage event.

I wanted that experience.

So I bought a cheap guitar and started practicing - little did I know I had a smidgen of talent, and developed the ability to play, produce, and write my own songs.

I obsessed over getting better at music. I hadn't felt this creative since I first started pursuing art. I would stay up late producing on my computer, and spend hours watching programs on YT on how to improve my compositions. I would sing scales in the car all the time, write lyrics all over my journals, and pick up my guitar whenever I had a spare moment.

Here's a little instrumental I made with a few spare hours:

Fade

Friends and people I didn't know were a bit impressed that I had a decent voice, and that I had learned to play so quickly.

However...My income dropped.

Since I wasn't putting much time and energy into my business or side hustle, my art rusted up, my sales went down, and what little following I have online started to wane.

If trying to be an artist AND a musician wasn't enough, I've been a part-time model and commercial actor for the past 5 years. I've worked for Best Buy, Target, Columbia, and other brands that my agencies marketed me to. I've taken acting classes and honed my chops enough to get paid for being in local short films and televised commercials.

At one point I wanted to pursue it, but the end result just wasn't exciting enough for me, plus I don't really enjoy studying the scripts or repeating lines ad nauseaum. The process isn't all that fun - unlike music. Acting makes me feel like a living puppet. Much like doing art for others makes me feel.

Music has had the least amount of development, and hasn't made me a dime, yet I love it the most. I don't aim to be a cover artist, but someone who's known for his own project(s).

Art has been the longest-running in my life, the one I've invest the most into. I still enjoy it a lot, but it burns me pretty bad when I have to do too much client work. I like making sales of my courses and working on content for my side-hustle though.

Acting? I've more or less dropped it. Despite being fairly good looking and booking gigs from time to time, I just don't like the results like I do with visual art or music.

In closing:

To bring it full circle - I feel pretty lost choosing my ONE thing. My mind has worked assiduously to undermine my focus and success in many areas, and I would cherish some outside wisdom to help me narrow it down and pull out a purpose I can actually give my all to.

I'm also afraid that even if did give everything I had to ONE of these paths, are they too slowlane for me to ever ascertain the financial freedom I seek?

The likelihood of amassing riches as an artist or a musician are pretty weak in contrast to being an entrepreneur. It's just a different spectrum for providing value.

I'm drawn mostly to creative fields, aligned with being a learner and a maker, more so than a manager or a salesman.

Assuming I could make a decent living as a musician, what then? Even after touring and getting signed to a label in a somewhat dying industry, I'd still be far from rich. I'd end up having to teach or open up some sort of personal brand/business. Even just getting signed, booked for shows and the like, would probably take me another 9-12 months even if I gave it 150%.

My ideal would be to create a valuable personal brand for my art and music. I want to synergize the two to create my USP - much like Gorillaz. Art (maybe animation) and music combined to form a potent entertainment experience.

So in short, I want to create songs and art. I want to become a millionaire by doing so.

From what I gather, this isn't traditional entrepreneurship. I don't have an above-average mathematical mind, I can't code, and I please my clients as a service-provider, but burn out quickly and don't make much $$$.

Am I just way off base here? Can you see something with this information that I can't? If you had these skill sets, what would you do?

Even just writing this I feel a bit better, like I've homed in on what I'd actually like to make my purpose. I hate being borderline broke, but I'd regret living to be 80 and never trying to make this dream come true.

If you've read or skimmed this far, you have my thanks. Even if you don't want to respond. I'll still be updating my progress thread and contributing to the forum, I've just had to get this off my chest because I keep freezing up due to analysis paralysis and indecision.

Feel free to share your own stories and hopefully we'll be able to shatter these paradigms together.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Incredible story. And great post. Clearly you are multi-talented and it is causing you strife.

BTW, did you compose the picture posted in your post? Absolutely beautiful.

I wish I had some legendary advice for your situation, or that I could sit here and regurgitate "follow your passion" but history proves that can be dangerous. You just said yourself that you hated your job which involved art. That's what trading time for your passion can do to your passion -- turn it into a hate.

I'm drawn mostly to creative fields, aligned with being a learner and a maker, more so than a manager or a salesman.

Am I just way off base here? Can you see something with this information that I can't? If you had these skill sets, what would you do?

Then I'd use my skill to create something. I'm not familiar with the MAGIC franchise, but could you do something there? A game? Large scale art prints focused on a niche, say gamers? I think you're overestimated the fickleness of the market.

I don't have an above-average mathematical mind, I can't code

Careful with identity labels -- they stop you from growing and pigeon hole your opportunities based on lies we tell ourselves.

An example I used years ago? You're not a public speaker. So I avoided speaking when the truth was, I can speak in front of a group just fine if I prepare and learn the skill.

 

[Lexauton]

First, sincere thanks for the wisdom and kind words.

I did make the picture I posted - It's one of my most recent personal illustrations.

Large-scale art prints sounds like something I could pour a great deal of soul into; that or some type of game.

I have a lot of friends who program and work for game companies. My first entrepreneurial endeavor was 17, when I actually partnered with coders and sold flash games we made for a 50/50 profit split.

If I could even amass 1000 true fans and serve them with everything I have, that's a worthwhile pursuit.

No more labeling and writhing in weaknesses either. That's a bad habit and I'll drop it like it's hot.

Thanks a bunch, MJ!

 

[luniac]

I just finished reading the book THE ONE THING by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.

I'm now in a state where I find my chest tight with the same encumbering fear I get when I think about narrowing down my focus to ONE purpose for my life.

The concept is simple, but applying it is not. I have seen mild success in many aspects of my life, but none that have permitted me to do more than make enough money to survive...I've never done more than 30K a year, and I'm 27 years old.

In order to give the best context I can without writing my entire autobiography, I'll recant a few pivotal moments (now that I'm editing this particular post, I don't feel like I've truly had my FTE...)

Anyhow, the book basically postulates that in order to achieve extraordinary results, we have to focus deeply (something I have struggled with greatly) on the ONE activity that will be the progenitor of our goal(s).

I'll do my best not to let this veer too far into "rant" territory, but I've had this issue for a while, and I'd like to gather some feedback from the wonderful minds that populate this forum.

My main motivation for posting this, is an organized and yet cathartic eruption. I want to burn off the impurities that have been indwelt into my being and have held me back time and time again.

Read on and you'll see why I've been pretty much broke my whole life, and how I'm aiming to change that.

You see, I'm an artist by trade - I went to school for animation, and ended up as a freelance illustrator/concept artist.

But the problem is that I love creating art and practicing it for my sake, and tend to start sabotaging my successes when I start performing it as a service for others.

In the second quarter of 2014 I was working in-house as an illustrator at a local studio. I was making 1k a week (the most I've made to date) and was miserable. I got home and was spent on levels I didn't know existed.

Even before I had a way to articulate the SCRIPT, I could feel it tugging at my autonomy, and basically gave into depression. This spell of sorrow caused me to put in my two-week's notice after 3 months.

Fast forward to 2015. I'm one of the 12 Illustrators from around the world to get a plane ticket to California Via the L.Ron Hubbard Association and their yearly contest. I didn't win at grand finals, but I got to meet some of the industry greats, network a bit, learn a lot, and received external validation for the work I'd put into my craft.

Even after that, I still couldn't bring myself to work more than 40 hours per week as a professional artist. Long periods in front of the screen, client feedback, low pay, and a plethora of other negatives just kept burning me out (depression + quitting current projects.)

A "dream job" in that industry would leave me feeling dead inside before long. This is something I struggle to come to terms with, as younger me really wanted to be a highly-regarded fantasy artist.

My path also forked into music as well.

In 2016 I started making small profit via art courses and my YouTube Channel began to grow. I was dating a girl who was the lead singer of a stoner rock band, and when I saw her perform, something inside me shifted.

I was awed, yet envious. She and her band were slaying it. During their set list, for some reason, I had this deep regret that I hadn't chosen music as my creative pursuit.

Seeing her under the vivid lights performing her heart out while people banged their heads - this made my art seem so droll. She was an entity, that for a brief series of songs transcended herself as a person, and became this on-stage event.

I wanted that experience.

So I bought a cheap guitar and started practicing - little did I know I had a smidgen of talent, and developed the ability to play, produce, and write my own songs.

I obsessed over getting better at music. I hadn't felt this creative since I first started pursuing art. I would stay up late producing on my computer, and spend hours watching programs on YT on how to improve my compositions. I would sing scales in the car all the time, write lyrics all over my journals, and pick up my guitar whenever I had a spare moment.

Here's a little instrumental I made with a few spare hours:

Fade

Friends and people I didn't know were a bit impressed that I had a decent voice, and that I had learned to play so quickly.

However...My income dropped.

Since I wasn't putting much time and energy into my business or side hustle, my art rusted up, my sales went down, and what little following I have online started to wane.

If trying to be an artist AND a musician wasn't enough, I've been a part-time model and commercial actor for the past 5 years. I've worked for Best Buy, Target, Columbia, and other brands that my agencies marketed me to. I've taken acting classes and honed my chops enough to get paid for being in local short films and televised commercials.

At one point I wanted to pursue it, but the end result just wasn't exciting enough for me, plus I don't really enjoy studying the scripts or repeating lines ad nauseaum. The process isn't all that fun - unlike music. Acting makes me feel like a living puppet. Much like doing art for others makes me feel.

Music has had the least amount of development, and hasn't made me a dime, yet I love it the most. I don't aim to be a cover artist, but someone who's known for his own project(s).

Art has been the longest-running in my life, the one I've invest the most into. I still enjoy it a lot, but it burns me pretty bad when I have to do too much client work. I like making sales of my courses and working on content for my side-hustle though.

Acting? I've more or less dropped it. Despite being fairly good looking and booking gigs from time to time, I just don't like the results like I do with visual art or music.

In closing:

To bring it full circle - I feel pretty lost choosing my ONE thing. My mind has worked assiduously to undermine my focus and success in many areas, and I would cherish some outside wisdom to help me narrow it down and pull out a purpose I can actually give my all to.

I'm also afraid that even if did give everything I had to ONE of these paths, are they too slowlane for me to ever ascertain the financial freedom I seek?

The likelihood of amassing riches as an artist or a musician are pretty weak in contrast to being an entrepreneur. It's just a different spectrum for providing value.

I'm drawn mostly to creative fields, aligned with being a learner and a maker, more so than a manager or a salesman.

Assuming I could make a decent living as a musician, what then? Even after touring and getting signed to a label in a somewhat dying industry, I'd still be far from rich. I'd end up having to teach or open up some sort of personal brand/business. Even just getting signed, booked for shows and the like, would probably take me another 9-12 months even if I gave it 150%.

My ideal would be to create a valuable personal brand for my art and music. I want to synergize the two to create my USP - much like Gorillaz. Art (maybe animation) and music combined to form a potent entertainment experience.

So in short, I want to create songs and art. I want to become a millionaire by doing so.

From what I gather, this isn't traditional entrepreneurship. I don't have an above-average mathematical mind, I can't code, and I please my clients as a service-provider, but burn out quickly and don't make much $$$.

Am I just way off base here? Can you see something with this information that I can't? If you had these skill sets, what would you do?

Even just writing this I feel a bit better, like I've homed in on what I'd actually like to make my purpose. I hate being borderline broke, but I'd regret living to be 80 and never trying to make this dream come true.

If you've read or skimmed this far, you have my thanks. Even if you don't want to respond. I'll still be updating my progress thread and contributing to the forum, I've just had to get this off my chest because I keep freezing up due to analysis paralysis and indecision.

Feel free to share your own stories and hopefully we'll be able to shatter these paradigms together.

wow ur a very skilled artist man.
I'm tryna make it in "entertainment" fastlane too, no success yet.

You story about seeing ur girl on stage performing and making ur art work seem droll is exactly how i feel about app development after seeing people entertain thousands live on stage. I'd love to be musician as well someday.

I wish you all the best a good luck, welcome to forum.

 

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[Merging Left]

Do you have a profile on artstation? I've found nearly all of the freelance artists I work with through there. You can build up followings, collaborate, give and seek advice, and attract clients with your portfolio.

 

[Lexauton]

wow ur a very skilled artist man.
I'm tryna make it in "entertainment" fastlane too, no success yet.

You story about seeing ur girl on stage performing and making ur art work seem droll is exactly how i feel about app development after seeing people entertain thousands live on stage. I'd love to be musician as well someday.

I wish you all the best a good luck, welcome to forum.

Right? There's no feeling like the electric one of performing your own songs while others vibe with it. I suspect sound has powers that static visuals just can't compare with. I've only had chills looking at a piece of art maybe 5 times - it's usually too static for that purpose.

Whereas animation and music give me chills up and down my spine; overwhelming emotions that verge on tears sometimes.

Anyway, I wish you the best as well! Do you have a soundcloud or bandcamp?

Do you have a profile on artstation? I've found nearly all of the freelance artists I work with through there. You can build up followings, collaborate, give and seek advice, and attract clients with your portfolio.

I do actually! Taylor Payton is my profile.

I haven't found a lot of success on there, as it's hard to rise above the noise for various reasons. I'm probably just not engaging with the community enough, or not doing enough fan art? I know I still have a lot of technical polish to work on as well.

Most of my gigs come from indie developers on game forums. I've had a lot of success creating threads where freelance artists are allowed to do so for free.

I'm happy you're hiring artists from there though!

 

[rollerskates]

I totally understand you. I'm talented in a lot of creative fields, and it's more stifling than anything. You really do start to hate things when you do them for money, and I think I've grown to hate everything I'm good at.

Your art is STUNNING. Have you thought about putting your art work up on Society6 or somewhere like that? They do all the fulfillment and you only make a few bucks per print, but you don't have to do anything else once you list something. It doesn't cost anything to sign up except for, I think, it was a dollar for Paypal verification.

Since you want to maybe combine animation with your music, what about creating some kind of motivational animated videos? I can see them appealing to teens (I can hear some teens I know saying THIS IS SO AWESOME). Or make serialized animated shorts and release them one at a time. Something along those lines?

Or what about writing an ebook that incorporates some of your art lessons? Maybe in comic book format?

Hope there is at least one good idea here for you.

 

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[Lexauton]

I totally understand you. I'm talented in a lot of creative fields, and it's more stifling than anything. You really do start to hate things when you do them for money, and I think I've grown to hate everything I'm good at.

Your art is STUNNING. Have you thought about putting your art work up on Society6 or somewhere like that? They do all the fulfillment and you only make a few bucks per print, but you don't have to do anything else once you list something. It doesn't cost anything to sign up except for, I think, it was a dollar for Paypal verification.

Since you want to maybe combine animation with your music, what about creating some kind of motivational animated videos? I can see them appealing to teens (I can hear some teens I know saying THIS IS SO AWESOME). Or make serialized animated shorts and release them one at a time. Something along those lines?

Or what about writing an ebook that incorporates some of your art lessons? Maybe in comic book format?

Hope there is at least one good idea here for you.

Having a love for multiple creative fields is a struggle in and of itself! I'm glad I'm not the only one who faces this issue. Trading talents for money is also a pretty disheartening endeavor.

Do you have any links to you works? I'd love to check them out!

I don't have a society 6 yet, I'll make one today for sure. I'd love to simply test different markets using it as a beginning platform. I have a big backlog of work I can upload on there as well.

In terms of creating some sort of content centered around art + music, I'm really into that idea.

Right now I want to finish this batch of songs I've got, release them as an EP, and then get my animator friends together to work on simple music videos based on the music. I'll then post them in the appropriate subreddits and all over social media accounts. I'll even send some to music bloggers and influencers to see if I can get some traction.

In terms of someone who's been able to do that successfully, there's Brendon Small who made Home Movies and Deathklok. He actually plays the guitar and animates. Dude is one of my heroes for sure! (as I type this, I just might have to create some fan art of his stuff and reach out to him...)

For me it's more about entertainment at this point, as I'd reserve the educational side of things for interviews, podcasts, or if there's enough demand for that aspect of the content. I already have a YouTube channel where I teach art with 11K subs, and I grow that pretty steadily each month.

 

[NewManRising]

I love plants and animals. But I am not sure I can turn this Fastlane. There is also the risk of hating it if having to do it for work. I am convinced it is better to go Fastlane on whatever can get you there. After that, you can have the time to pursue your passions and hobbies.

 

[Lexauton]

I love plants and animals. But I am not sure I can turn this Fastlane. There is also the risk of hating it if having to do it for work. I am convinced it is better to go Fastlane on whatever can get you there. After that, you can have the time to pursue your passions and hobbies.

Simply and aptly stated. It would take some serious brainstorming to turn a love of plants and animals Fastlane without exploiting either of those beautiful things.

I'll continue to collect more "Fastlane" ideas in my journals just in case my more ideal ventures fail spectacularly. Sometimes it's all about solving the boring and mundane problems no one wants to solve, instead of clinging to our interests and hoping to transform them into millions.

 

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[MUISaiyan]

First your artwork rocks, absolutely amazing!

Second, I completely understand your position. I also graduated with a degree in media arts and animation and for many many years struggled to find my one thing (I still haven’t honestly).

But I did turn my creative skills into nice income and you can too.

I wanted to be an animator forever, went to college, and days before graduation I met a past student who got what I thought was the dream job working for a major production studio. I was then shocked to hear how much he hated it and how he had to share a house with 4 other people and how he practically slept under his desk working crazy hours animating to meet deadlines. I immediately regretted the 4 years I just spent in school and after graduating started looking for other opportunities while doing animation and illustration gigs on the side.

Luckily, I discovered MJs book around this same time and dived into it trying to figure out what I could do.

Unfortunately (and fortunately) I’ve made every mistake in the book over the years. Chasing shiny object opportunities, joined MLM schemes, bought into scammy courses, and did plenty of non-fastlane things that didn’t work and cost me a lot of money and time.

BUT I kept at it and learned all I could about business. Eventually, I learned to be passionate about business too. (I would highly suggest learning everything you can about business since art is a business my man.)

Eventually, I did freelancing as a way to make money as a creative somewhat like you are, but I learned to charge more for what I did. So I made whiteboard animated videos and charged businesses about $500-$2500 a pop for them. I did plenty of freelance illustrations and stuff on Upwork.com too for a while before starting my own local creative agency offering creative work, graphics, etc to the tune of six figures a year.

It’s not millionaire fastlane status but it’s definitely better being a slave at a big studio to me.

Keep diving into the fast lane book and tapping into the forum. There’s plenty of good advice on here and lots of ways to use your talent to make you a ton of money. There’s a lot of demand from businesses that need creative services like yours too without having to burn out.

Here are a few ideas:

• Freelance (not fastlane but a noble start) - This is how I got my start. Learn to sell and charge a nice fee for your service. Can easily take you to $10k per month. Definitely will teach you sales skills and business basics.
• Teach what you know AKA info products (much more fastlane)- Create a course on Udemy.com or set up your own with Teachable.com.
  • This lady has 80k students enrolled in her scrapbooking course: Build A Beautiful Online Course Homepage
  • A good friend of mine also makes $30k a month teaching artists on teachable.
    
  • Animation course - Character Animation with Blender for Beginners
  • Another animation course site - https://creatureartteacher.com/product-category/tutorials-lessons/animation-tutorials/
• Setup a Shopify Store (also pretty fastlane) - Setup a Shopify store tonight and install an app called Printful that lets you sell your art on merchandise like hats, T-shirt’s, mugs, etc. They even ship it for you, so you don't have to invest any money or order anything in bulk up front. You can literally start this business in 1 day.

Plenty of opportunities, yes, but choose one to start and see where it leads.

Don’t stress it so much you’ll find your way through just going out and doing it.
Sorry for the long post but hope it was helpful in some way from someone who was in your shoes.

The key, I believe, is to focus on ONE thing until you get that working, then add on related things after. You never know where life will take you!

Disney himself was a freelance cartoonist and failed dozens of times, even went bankrupt, had his work stolen from him (Oswald the rabbit), until he got his "overnight success" with Snow White at 36 years old, when it broke records with over $1 million. You might think Disney world was his one thing, but he did many things to get there.

It's somewhat of a myth to get your ONE thing on the first swing at bat, most successful people tried many things before they got to their ONE thing. ;D

I’m still on the journey like you (30 years old now), and not stopping anytime soon. One thing leads to another. (My creative agency has led me to much bigger million dollar opportunity I am working on now.)

Hope that helps!

 

[ThirtyOne]

Do you like video games? Your art seems to be inspired by that.

Here's an idea: serve the people who love video games/video game art and have influence/celebrity. If you can say, design something for Marcus "Notch" Perrson (creator of Minecraft) that you have a reasonable guess he'll like (peruse his twitter), then he might retweet your work, or even better, if you place it/sell it to him, you might have your first paying customer who has millions of followers.

Do this with a handful of celebrities/influencers and you might be on to something.

I don't have a lot of time right now, but I'd be happy to chat about this later.

 

[Lexauton]

Do you like video games? Your art seems to be inspired by that.

Here's an idea: serve the people who love video games/video game art and have influence/celebrity. If you can say, design something for Marcus "Notch" Perrson (creator of Minecraft) that you have a reasonable guess he'll like (peruse his twitter), then he might retweet your work, or even better, if you place it/sell it to him, you might have your first paying customer who has millions of followers.

Do this with a handful of celebrities/influencers and you might be on to something.

I don't have a lot of time right now, but I'd be happy to chat about this later.

Video games and Anime are why I started making art.

That's a fantastic idea though. Taking the interests of successful game creators and forming a content creation strategy around that. It's much smarter to leverage their following than to spend eons building my own with little or no success. Even having 10K followers doesn't guarantee much wealth in this niche. I'll start collecting a spreadsheet of celebrities and influencers in games, art, film, and music.

I'll take some action and PM you. Thank you for responding .

First your artwork rocks, absolutely amazing!

Second, I completely understand your position. I also graduated with a degree in media arts and animation and for many many years struggled to find my one thing (I still haven’t honestly).

But I did turn my creative skills into nice income and you can too.

I wanted to be an animator forever, went to college, and days before graduation I met a past student who got what I thought was the dream job working for a major production studio. I was then shocked to hear how much he hated it and how he had to share a house with 4 other people and how he practically slept under his desk working crazy hours animating to meet deadlines. I immediately regretted the 4 years I just spent in school and after graduating started looking for other opportunities while doing animation and illustration gigs on the side.

Luckily, I discovered MJs book around this same time and dived into it trying to figure out what I could do.

Unfortunately (and fortunately) I’ve made every mistake in the book over the years. Chasing shiny object opportunities, joined MLM schemes, bought into scammy courses, and did plenty of non-fastlane things that didn’t work and cost me a lot of money and time.

BUT I kept at it and learned all I could about business. Eventually, I learned to be passionate about business too. (I would highly suggest learning everything you can about business since art is a business my man.)

Eventually, I did freelancing as a way to make money as a creative somewhat like you are, but I learned to charge more for what I did. So I made whiteboard animated videos and charged businesses about $500-$2500 a pop for them. I did plenty of freelance illustrations and stuff on Upwork.com too for a while before starting my own local creative agency offering creative work, graphics, etc to the tune of six figures a year.

It’s not millionaire fastlane status but it’s definitely better being a slave at a big studio to me.

Keep diving into the fast lane book and tapping into the forum. There’s plenty of good advice on here and lots of ways to use your talent to make you a ton of money. There’s a lot of demand from businesses that need creative services like yours too without having to burn out.

Here are a few ideas:

• Freelance (not fastlane but a noble start) - This is how I got my start. Learn to sell and charge a nice fee for your service. Can easily take you to $10k per month. Definitely will teach you sales skills and business basics.
• Teach what you know AKA info products (much more fastlane)- Create a course on Udemy.com or set up your own with Teachable.com.
  • This lady has 80k students enrolled in her scrapbooking course: Build A Beautiful Online Course Homepage
  • A good friend of mine also makes $30k a month teaching artists on teachable.
    
  • Animation course - Character Animation with Blender for Beginners
  • Another animation course site - https://creatureartteacher.com/product-category/tutorials-lessons/animation-tutorials/
• Setup a Shopify Store (also pretty fastlane) - Setup a Shopify store tonight and install an app called Printful that lets you sell your art on merchandise like hats, T-shirt’s, mugs, etc. They even ship it for you, so you don't have to invest any money or order anything in bulk up front. You can literally start this business in 1 day.

Plenty of opportunities, yes, but choose one to start and see where it leads.

Don’t stress it so much you’ll find your way through just going out and doing it.
Sorry for the long post but hope it was helpful in some way from someone who was in your shoes.

The key, I believe, is to focus on ONE thing until you get that working, then add on related things after. You never know where life will take you!

Disney himself was a freelance cartoonist and failed dozens of times, even went bankrupt, had his work stolen from him (Oswald the rabbit), until he got his "overnight success" with Snow White at 36 years old, when it broke records with over $1 million. You might think Disney world was his one thing, but he did many things to get there.

It's somewhat of a myth to get your ONE thing on the first swing at bat, most successful people tried many things before they got to their ONE thing. ;D

I’m still on the journey like you (30 years old now), and not stopping anytime soon. One thing leads to another. (My creative agency has led me to much bigger million dollar opportunity I am working on now.)

Hope that helps!

Thank you for the kind words about my art!

I'm intensely grateful to have come into contact with someone who also studied Media arts and Animation. It's a pretty insane industry once you're locked into a studio, no?

It's funny, I've made a few of the same mistakes - not actually joining the MLM, but walking on the fringe of it, chasing red herrings and start-ups that I thought were going to pan out, but didn't get funds for many reasons. A lack of business acumen has bitten me more than once.

That said, I've started to really enjoy business too. It's amazing to hear that it's worked so well for you discovering that aspect of yourself and developing those particular muscles.

Right now I do freelance, but as stated, it's pretty much just enough to survive. I'm probably in the wrong watering holes when I'm looking for clients. I've bid projects when people come to me for $50/hr and they either don't respond or counter offer much lower. I'll keep hunting for new places to get in touch with people who actually have a budget for creative services.

I also sell my own info products for teaching drawing and painting, and I've grossed about 10k over the past few years doing so, but looking at those numbers from other teachers...There are definitely marketing and sales areas I'm tripping up on. I'll have to learn from their prowess.

All in all, I can't thank you enough for the wisdom. Coming from someone who's a few years ahead of me in the creative game, making a healthy living and dropping mad leads for opportunities to follow up on, I'm awed. I wasn't expecting such a specific response when I opened this thread.

I have so much action to take, I may have to open up new progress threads, haha.

I don't feel so scared to choose my ONE thing anymore, as it takes many devoted hours in many paths to finally start narrowing it down. One thing does lead to the next, much like Disney discovered, and hearing it from you as well gives me great hope.

 

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[ThirtyOne]

Video games and Anime are why I started making art.

That's a fantastic idea though. Taking the interests of successful game creators and forming a content creation strategy around that. It's much smarter to leverage their following than to spend eons building my own with little or no success. Even having 10K followers doesn't guarantee much wealth in this niche. I'll start collecting a spreadsheet of celebrities and influencers in games, art, film, and music.

I'll take some action and PM you. Thank you for responding .

No problem. Good on you for making a spreadsheet. I'd even consider doing a google search for "famous people who like fan art" or "celebrities who like video games" and a bunch of other versions of that.

I look forward to your DM.

 

[luniac]

Right? There's no feeling like the electric one of performing your own songs while others vibe with it. I suspect sound has powers that static visuals just can't compare with. I've only had chills looking at a piece of art maybe 5 times - it's usually too static for that purpose.

Whereas animation and music give me chills up and down my spine; overwhelming emotions that verge on tears sometimes.

Anyway, I wish you the best as well! Do you have a soundcloud or bandcamp?

I feel it's the live human contact with fans that makes all the difference. Sitting alone at a computer pales in comparison.

nope i don't got those, tryin not to multitask too much.

 

[rollerskates]

install an app called Printful

Printful is great! They integrate with quite a few other platforms so you can use them across multiple sales channels. The only downside I've heard, is that you have to pay them when the customer pays you, instead of like Society6, where you literally do nothing but upload and collect your money. I could be wrong, I haven't used Prihtful yet.

 

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[rollerskates]

Do you have any links to you works?

I'll send you something later via PM! I have a doctor's appt so I need to get going now, but I will dig out something later. Be warned, I'm not quite as talented as you!

 

[ALC]

Sometimes it's all about solving the boring and mundane problems no one wants to solve, instead of clinging to our interests and hoping to transform them into millions.

It's actually what you need to focus on, if it fail.
There's only the most boring things left that will make you successful (imo)

 

[Iammelissamoore]

Firstly - your work is absolutely amazing.

You know what happens to some of us creatives? We adore and are highly drawn to the beauties and the juice-dripping aspect of the larger picture and we get lost with the unsexy, unappealing, nitty-gritty details necessary for creating the foundation to get us to that larger picture. To be honest, this is not a sin, neither does it mean that you are doomed because of the incredible creativity you have.

I was once like this, changing from one thing to the other when it started being a bore, but, after having read unscripted and learning the importance of consistency and building a foundation - especially with the inspiration of the many stories on this forum, with practise and focus, I am currently managing to muster up the strength necessary for continuously building the necessary foundation to take me forward with things. This can be uncomfortable, but it is necessary, because sometimes we overlook the important details which are the necessary stepping stones to take us to the "coolness" of what we do. e.g. You adored what you saw when your girlfriend had that crowd going, but, the behind-the-scene details she had to put in to get her there is what helped secure her success, and what you were seeing was her success, and you aren't at fault for that, for some people, that's how we are wired, but, with a bit of rewiring via specific practises to help you focus and build your foundation for whatever you choose to do, you can obtain positive outcomes in your field.

From the wealth of programmes you have successfully completed, you have created a solid foundation of knowledge necessary to proceed to your next step, what I think is important now, is for you to selflessly focus on what you wish for your outcome to be. What problems are you seeking to solve in the creative industry? What isn't being done that should be done to create sound solutions for the end-users? How can you change up the game? Does it need changing? What about additions? Are there any items you can channel your knowledge to add to the industry? What about software? Is there any software programmes you can create as a solution to existing problems which will also encourage your creativity to flow? I'm asking the questions, not for you to actually answer me, but just as the beginning of a process in which you can rattle your inner-self to awaken specific attributes which you actually have but haven't necessarily had the opportunity to put to use alongside your excellent skills and knowledge. Of course you can go deeper in working things out, review the books again, see where you can bring out some of that inner creativity based on suggestions from within and while it is important to focus on one thing, don't abandon the additional thoughts coming into your head, some of those thoughts can be additional ideas that can help in creating that one thing.

I had to learn to get myself into doing the routine, not-so-cool things, because, sometimes in life, we do things that lack fun - temporarily, so we can build the foundation for experiences later on which will guarantee us permanent fun, you know what I mean? Don't give in, you are on to something excellent.

 

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[racyred09]

Your artwork is amazing! I can see why you want to pursue a creative avenue.
Apologies if anyone has already said something similar to this, but have you ever considered teaching other people art or music? Check out the book "Launch" by Jeff Walker. Great book, not very valuable to me as I don't have a skill with demand (yet), but for you I think it would be perfect. I think if you could teach people a bit, you could get the financial freedom to pursue whichever avenue without having to worry about it paying the bills.
I wish you all the best!

 

[MUISaiyan]

Video games and Anime are why I started making art.

That's a fantastic idea though. Taking the interests of successful game creators and forming a content creation strategy around that. It's much smarter to leverage their following than to spend eons building my own with little or no success. Even having 10K followers doesn't guarantee much wealth in this niche. I'll start collecting a spreadsheet of celebrities and influencers in games, art, film, and music.

I'll take some action and PM you. Thank you for responding .



Thank you for the kind words about my art!

I'm intensely grateful to have come into contact with someone who also studied Media arts and Animation. It's a pretty insane industry once you're locked into a studio, no?

It's funny, I've made a few of the same mistakes - not actually joining the MLM, but walking on the fringe of it, chasing red herrings and start-ups that I thought were going to pan out, but didn't get funds for many reasons. A lack of business acumen has bitten me more than once.

That said, I've started to really enjoy business too. It's amazing to hear that it's worked so well for you discovering that aspect of yourself and developing those particular muscles.

Right now I do freelance, but as stated, it's pretty much just enough to survive. I'm probably in the wrong watering holes when I'm looking for clients. I've bid projects when people come to me for $50/hr and they either don't respond or counter offer much lower. I'll keep hunting for new places to get in touch with people who actually have a budget for creative services.

I also sell my own info products for teaching drawing and painting, and I've grossed about 10k over the past few years doing so, but looking at those numbers from other teachers...There are definitely marketing and sales areas I'm tripping up on. I'll have to learn from their prowess.

All in all, I can't thank you enough for the wisdom. Coming from someone who's a few years ahead of me in the creative game, making a healthy living and dropping mad leads for opportunities to follow up on, I'm awed. I wasn't expecting such a specific response when I opened this thread.

I have so much action to take, I may have to open up new progress threads, haha.

I don't feel so scared to choose my ONE thing anymore, as it takes many devoted hours in many paths to finally start narrowing it down. One thing does lead to the next, much like Disney discovered, and hearing it from you as well gives me great hope.

No problem, I am still learning every day too and still working on my fast lane path.
I think it's important to keep a beginners mind with everything no matter how far you get.

Maybe double down on the selling of your info products if you're already making some money with it. Getting paid $10k is proof the marketplace is willing to pay you for your knowledge/product already. Maybe now you just need to scale it to more people. Have you gotten feedback on your current info product?

Then start thinking about Targeted Traffic + Conversion Optimization.

Traffic
With Facebook ads, you can target lots of people who are interested in character design and animation. There's also lot's of people searching every day to learn how to do what you do on Google Adwords. Facebook you can start with $5 a day in ads and start seeing results. I'm sure Cost per click is also very low for this market too in Adwords.

If you're low on cash, you can even create some free YouTube How-To videos showing your process, speed sketches, and start growing your subscribers to drive them to your course funnel.

Conversion
Start thinking about creating a basic funnel for your course and how you can drive more people to it.
"Free video on how to draw X if they sign up". Then after they sign up, offer them to join your paid course or buy your info product.

Then you can improve your funnel as you go.

Use a software like Leadpages or Clickfunnels. Or if you go with Teachable, just set up a free course that they can sign up for. This will get them into your email list and system to then offer your paid courses.

Just some ideas I've used myself and for others in the past.

 

[biophase]

Ok, I'm going to be the one to say it. You want something but you are too lazy or don't want to work to get it.

It's not just art or music or modelling, everything in the world is like this. You want to draw at your own pace, whatever you want, when you want. if you have a deadline, then it becomes work, not play. This can be said for everything.

Many kids love to play video games, but what if they HAD to play the video game. I'm sure many kids would hate playing the same level over and over again until they were perfect at it.

I love to play basketball, but what if I had to shoot 1000 free throws everyday instead of just going to play pickup games?

You aren't going to get paid for something that you love to do, all the time. It just doesn't happen. I suggest you step back and think about this. Let's say you get a 50 city tour for your band. Think of the work you will need to put in, not only to play at the concert, but all the logistics in travel, paperwork, lighting, etc... The playing on stage may be 2-3 hours of what you love, mixed with 12 hours of stuff you hate to do.

What if you get selected to illustrate a comic book? Dream job? Maybe the first book, but what about the second, third or fourth?

There are deadlines and work in every field. There is no field of work where you can do it as you please and money comes rolling in. Just remember that someone is paying you for your work, that in order for you to get paid, you must provide them what they ask in a reasonable amount of time with high quality.

 

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[MUISaiyan]

Ok, I'm going to be the one to say it. You want something but you are too lazy or don't want to work to get it.

It's not just art or music or modelling, everything in the world is like this. You want to draw at your own pace, whatever you want, when you want. if you have a deadline, then it becomes work, not play. This can be said for everything.

Many kids love to play video games, but what if they HAD to play the video game. I'm sure many kids would hate playing the same level over and over again until they were perfect at it.

I love to play basketball, but what if I had to shoot 1000 free throws everyday instead of just going to play pickup games?

You aren't going to get paid for something that you love to do, all the time. It just doesn't happen. I suggest you step back and think about this. Let's say you get a 50 city tour for your band. Think of the work you will need to put in, not only to play at the concert, but all the logistics in travel, paperwork, lighting, etc... The playing on stage may be 2-3 hours of what you love, mixed with 12 hours of stuff you hate to do.

What if you get selected to illustrate a comic book? Dream job? Maybe the first book, but what about the second, third or fourth?

There are deadlines and work in every field. There is no field of work where you can do it as you please and money comes rolling in. Just remember that someone is paying you for your work, that in order for you to get paid, you must provide them what they ask in a reasonable amount of time with high quality.

Well said.

I probably should have mentioned in my original reply, when I heard the new animation grad had to sleep under his desk or live with 4 people to pay rent, it wasn't the hard work I wanted to avoid but the end result. He was stuck in that life (by his choice of course).

The best artists and musicians are in the studio every day.

 

[briteusa]

Lexauton, great scripts. I applaud your vulnerability in pouring out your heart and soul, allowing us a peak into your world. From the contents of your writing, you have guts, tenacity and talents but you lack VISION. There is an old saying that goes this way, "Jack of all trades, Master of NONE" Pick one interest and focus on it that even if failures knocks at your door, you are still joyful doing it. Good luck in your pursuit of the green pastures.

 

[Lexauton]

Wow, first, I'm floored by not only the variety and value of the replies that everyone's posting, but also the "grounding" nature of these posts. This deluge of replies may get a little lengthy, but here we go:

It's actually what you need to focus on, if it fail.
There's only the most boring things left that will make you successful (imo)

Boredom is definitely one factor for sniffing out untapped opportunities. Human beings seek to alleviate boredom, but when it comes to solving boring problems beautifully, there's an art to it.

I think the key is to bring creativity into the mix whenever possible so as to alleviate that odd feeling that none of us want to really deal with.

Firstly - your work is absolutely amazing.

You know what happens to some of us creatives? We adore and are highly drawn to the beauties and the juice-dripping aspect of the larger picture and we get lost with the unsexy, unappealing, nitty-gritty details necessary for creating the foundation to get us to that larger picture. To be honest, this is not a sin, neither does it mean that you are doomed because of the incredible creativity you have.

I was once like this, changing from one thing to the other when it started being a bore, but, after having read unscripted and learning the importance of consistency and building a foundation - especially with the inspiration of the many stories on this forum, with practise and focus, I am currently managing to muster up the strength necessary for continuously building the necessary foundation to take me forward with things. This can be uncomfortable, but it is necessary, because sometimes we overlook the important details which are the necessary stepping stones to take us to the "coolness" of what we do. e.g. You adored what you saw when your girlfriend had that crowd going, but, the behind-the-scene details she had to put in to get her there is what helped secure her success, and what you were seeing was her success, and you aren't at fault for that, for some people, that's how we are wired, but, with a bit of rewiring via specific practises to help you focus and build your foundation for whatever you choose to do, you can obtain positive outcomes in your field.

From the wealth of programmes you have successfully completed, you have created a solid foundation of knowledge necessary to proceed to your next step, what I think is important now, is for you to selflessly focus on what you wish for your outcome to be. What problems are you seeking to solve in the creative industry? What isn't being done that should be done to create sound solutions for the end-users? How can you change up the game? Does it need changing? What about additions? Are there any items you can channel your knowledge to add to the industry? What about software? Is there any software programmes you can create as a solution to existing problems which will also encourage your creativity to flow? I'm asking the questions, not for you to actually answer me, but just as the beginning of a process in which you can rattle your inner-self to awaken specific attributes which you actually have but haven't necessarily had the opportunity to put to use alongside your excellent skills and knowledge. Of course you can go deeper in working things out, review the books again, see where you can bring out some of that inner creativity based on suggestions from within and while it is important to focus on one thing, don't abandon the additional thoughts coming into your head, some of those thoughts can be additional ideas that can help in creating that one thing.

I had to learn to get myself into doing the routine, not-so-cool things, because, sometimes in life, we do things that lack fun - temporarily, so we can build the foundation for experiences later on which will guarantee us permanent fun, you know what I mean? Don't give in, you are on to something excellent.

Thank you very much for the thoughtful and heart-felt reply.

I resonate with a lot of this. It's really easy to chase the muse all over the map and then look up one day and realize you're lost. It will keep bounding about in a fairy-tale like manner, driving us into new pursuits and territories that give us a high, but ultimately ensure we never stick around the right place long enough to build anything substantial.

A part of growing up is realizing that so much of life isn't about the cool things, but about the real things. Taking the mature and long-term perspective rather than the flighty one.

Fun can definitely happen later, as opposed to now. Now is a time for work and minimal "fun" as I like to define it. Creativity is a source-skill, so it can be applied to any forum we find ourselves in.

My problem was never the learning and devotional aspect of the crafts, it's always been based on monetization of them. I would practice and apply all day if I could, but it's ultimately self-indulgent unless it provides value to others. That's the part where I need to learn the love. The love of building the systems, testing the markets, solving the problems that no one else is stepping up to solve.

I was always so afraid that if I started pursuing only one avenue the craft would rust up on me, and I would lose precious time spent with that skill. Even though it's not quite like riding a bike, that skill can always be re-invoked after a few months of deliberate practice.

Your artwork is amazing! I can see why you want to pursue a creative avenue.
Apologies if anyone has already said something similar to this, but have you ever considered teaching other people art or music? Check out the book "Launch" by Jeff Walker. Great book, not very valuable to me as I don't have a skill with demand (yet), but for you I think it would be perfect. I think if you could teach people a bit, you could get the financial freedom to pursue whichever avenue without having to worry about it paying the bills.
I wish you all the best!

Thank you for the praise regarding my work!

I've never read Launch either, but it's on my Amazon list now.

Ultimately, it's my goal to ascertain financial freedom (which for me is only about 5k per month) so I can devote as much time as possible to pursuing these creative avenues in a serialized manner.

Ok, I'm going to be the one to say it. You want something but you are too lazy or don't want to work to get it.

It's not just art or music or modelling, everything in the world is like this. You want to draw at your own pace, whatever you want, when you want. if you have a deadline, then it becomes work, not play. This can be said for everything.

Many kids love to play video games, but what if they HAD to play the video game. I'm sure many kids would hate playing the same level over and over again until they were perfect at it.

I love to play basketball, but what if I had to shoot 1000 free throws everyday instead of just going to play pickup games?

You aren't going to get paid for something that you love to do, all the time. It just doesn't happen. I suggest you step back and think about this. Let's say you get a 50 city tour for your band. Think of the work you will need to put in, not only to play at the concert, but all the logistics in travel, paperwork, lighting, etc... The playing on stage may be 2-3 hours of what you love, mixed with 12 hours of stuff you hate to do.

What if you get selected to illustrate a comic book? Dream job? Maybe the first book, but what about the second, third or fourth?

There are deadlines and work in every field. There is no field of work where you can do it as you please and money comes rolling in. Just remember that someone is paying you for your work, that in order for you to get paid, you must provide them what they ask in a reasonable amount of time with high quality.

This rings true. As much as I hate to admit it, the responsibility aspect of work has always been an issue for me. I turned to entrepreneurship because it provides the greatest degree of freedom if one can ascertain enough income.

Laziness is a factor, fear of responsibility and committing myself to something I end up hating is too. When it comes to truly tying down to anything, that's when the fear crops up, and I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. It's the sabotaging mechanism that has kept me from true success in any of these fields.

Ultimately all I want to create is freedom and creative autonomy. Wealth is the only way I know how to do that in the system we reside.

It's a lonely road trying to climb these pyramids. I hope the one I choose isn't going to take me to a miserable summit that I'll want to throw myself off of when I'm 40 years old.

This step back is good for parsing the reality that underlies pretty much any profession. I value your honesty and I don't disagree with a word of your post.

Well said.

I probably should have mentioned in my original reply, when I heard the new animation grad had to sleep under his desk or live with 4 people to pay rent, it wasn't the hard work I wanted to avoid but the end result. He was stuck in that life (by his choice of course).

The best artists and musicians are in the studio every day.

Truth. Ideally it feels more like play than another form of enslavement. We want to make great things, but in exchange we have to offer ourselves up to the process.

I really like your post on targeted marketing and conversion! when my funds transfer over from my black friday sales and I optimize my domain for lead capturing I'll run some ads. I've done so in the past but I've literally only dipped my big toe into the ocean that is ppc.

Lexauton, great scripts. I applaud your vulnerability in pouring out your heart and soul, allowing us a peak into your world. From the contents of your writing, you have guts, tenacity and talents but you lack VISION. There is an old saying that goes this way, "Jack of all trades, Master of NONE" Pick one interest and focus on it that even if failures knocks at your door, you are still joyful doing it. Good luck in your pursuit of the green pastures.

Thank you for the wonderful post. I'm doing my utmost to condense my vision and drop the rest. Right now it's looking like educational e-learning content. If that makes enough I won't have to force myself into freelance anymore and can just keep mastering the craft that is art and business.

Music is a hobby, and I don't I need to take it professionally or monetize it. That might corrupt it as it has the artwork. Instead I'll just get very good and produce my own albums + offer to do live shows for free.

I'm probably at about 6,500 - 7,000 hours for art, so I'll be able to master that in this lifetime.

As I stated before with the acting stuff, that's no longer a part of my vision. Not enough innate love for it.

 

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[ALC]

I think the key is to bring creativity into the mix whenever possible so as to alleviate that odd feeling that none of us want to really deal with.

Exactly, and to be correct, there's not only the most boring things that will make you successful, anything that bring value as we see everyday, or when new success story pop on the SMedia, can make you successful.

But i'm sure that, the things that the majority don't want to do, is where the money is.

There's many way to find ideas, i implore every one to have in the car, near your desk a little paper or a Remind / Notes gadget on the PC desktop, to write down any ideas that pass through your mind.
I mean before, i had ideas while driving but didn't wrote them down, now that i'm aware that these ideas can bring a lot of value, i got a few of them that have an opportunity to produce something cool.

It can be something seriously complex like something easy, an object, a product, a service..just write the idea down and search detail on the internet.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

@Lexauton -- have you tried Patreon to try to gain more exposure to your work? (And get paid for it?)

 

[biophase]

This rings true. As much as I hate to admit it, the responsibility aspect of work has always been an issue for me. I turned to entrepreneurship because it provides the greatest degree of freedom if one can ascertain enough income.

Laziness is a factor, fear of responsibility and committing myself to something I end up hating is too. When it comes to truly tying down to anything, that's when the fear crops up, and I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. It's the sabotaging mechanism that has kept me from true success in any of these fields.

Ultimately all I want to create is freedom and creative autonomy. Wealth is the only way I know how to do that in the system we reside.

It's a lonely road trying to climb these pyramids. I hope the one I choose isn't going to take me to a miserable summit that I'll want to throw myself off of when I'm 40 years old.

This step back is good for parsing the reality that underlies pretty much any profession. I value your honesty and I don't disagree with a word of your post.

It's not the thing that you do at the moment that you must always like, but it is the result coming from it that must be satisfactory.

So what I'm saying is that you may hate the day to day work when you are working on a 200 hour mural for some building putting in 10 hour days, the work may suck, but the feeling of accomplishment when you are done far outweighs the work.

In fact, let me leave you with is. People who run marathons love running and completing them. But they don't LOVE everyday of training. Who wants to do a short 10 mile run when it's 40 degrees and raining. My point is that it is absolutely impossible to get any satisfaction, sense of accomplishment or fulfillment without PUTTING IN WORK THAT YOU DON'T LIKE.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

So what I'm saying is that you may hate the day to day work when you are working on a 200 hour mural for some building putting in 10 hour days, the work may suck, but the feeling of accomplishment when you are done far outweighs the work.

In fact, let me leave you with is. People who run marathons love running and completing them. But they don't LOVE everyday of training. Who wants to do a short 10 mile run when it's 40 degrees and raining. My point is that it is absolutely impossible to get any satisfaction, sense of accomplishment or fulfillment without PUTTING IN WORK THAT YOU DON'T LIKE.

In other words, "do what you love" is a scam. Success comes from "doing what you hate" and then loving the result.

 

[Hai]

Hey Taylor,
I have seen your branding before and really like what you build up. Your execution is pretty good.
As a fellow used-to-be wannabe concept artist, let me tell you some things(this is my opinion only).

The current state of the concept artist world is driven by ego. I.e. "I want to be the best artist ever and be as good as xxxxx".
This is pressure driven by marketing and game studios and the community as a whole. It´s not a bad concept, but fundamentally slowlane and driven by egoistic endeavors. This is basically do what you love. You become the consumer of the concept art marketing and all the art that is uploaded. You also become a reactive artist by following the trends.
What I did is unfollow every artist and deleted facebook to find what lies whithin. As biophase suggested, look deep within yourself and don´t get distracted by your talking mind.

After dropping art(yep), I felt free from the chains of scripted dogmas(paint every day to become good! it´s your passion!!! you surely love to be broke and work for other companies!!!).
I was honest with myself. My painting skills were neither special nor did they fill other people´s needs other than my selfish desire to be recognized as a great artist. For perspective, I was drawing/painting from 13-22 years and was determined to become the next Jeremy Mann.

Now let´s look at how you can leverage your current skills to build a fastlane business. You probably have a good creative sense as an artist.
There are quite a lot of working fastlane business models fit for a creative:

1. Pen-and Paper Games
2. Digital Games
3. Physical Product Creation(Ecomm)

As you notice, to fill the needs in these markets requires to develop additional skills. This is what is needed to solve needs.
You can either outsource some stuff, or learn it yourself. Me, for example, learned code to become an indie developer(it´s my ONE thing. It is a working business model and your success depends on execution. It still uses the available skillset and solves a need).

It is helpful to list criterias to decide it´s the ONE thing:
Does the business model solve a big problem/need?
Can it scale into millions?
Am I committed to the process even after failure?
Can I execute on it well now or in the future?(be honest)

You said it yourself. What you need now is financial freedom. Creative autonomy is something you already have, if you treat it as a hobby.
The problem with digital painting is that deep down, you aren´t committed to the process of HAVING to do it as a job and HAVING to become better). Doing what you love is also hugely driven by luck(which is against the commandmend of control).

In the end, digital art needs to be catalysed into a product, that people want.
Hope all this makes sense