The compass of fear
This morning I was listening to a book about the business of art. As I listened to a list of things artists can do to grow their audience, I realized my heart was pounding. I was also breathing a little more rapidly than normal. This wasn’t anything health-related. This was simply fear.
I immediately began to question what was going on inside me. What exactly had I heard that triggered this response? What thoughts did I have about growing my audience that would trigger a visceral response like this?
Well, there were a lot. Most of it centered around owning up to my ambition of sharing my work more broadly. I know that because just typing that last sentence made my heart pound again. If one doesn’t own one’s ambition, it’s hard to fail, isn’t it? It’s much more comfortable to sit on the sidelines and wish things were different.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m beginning to see how putting our work out there is just as big a part of the artistic endeavor as creating it. Real artists ship, I’ve heard it said so many times.
Instead of running away from the fear, I’m committed to using it as a compass. If it makes my heart pound, then this is the direction I need to go.
One foot in front of the other—it’s time to get going.
Warmest regards,
Philip