Artist Lisa Congdon on being a late bloomer: “We must begin to think about the last half of our lives as the most magical, most amazing years."
One of my first jobs out of college was at a nonprofit that did education reform in San Francisco. The people there were cool. They were educators who cared a lot about making schools better. One of them was Lisa Congdon. She was a little older than me, and she had cool glasses and two little buns on the top of her head She was driven and serious, and if I’d have guessed then, I would have figured she’d eventually run her own nonprofit.
We lost touch. Then a few years ago, I stumbled across Lisa on the internet. Or rather, her work. And I thought, is this the same person?
She’d become an artist, and her colorful graphics were everywhere. Greeting cards. Posters. Tote bags. Her Instagram pictures get thousands of likes. She’s done work for MoMa.
Lisa calls herself a late bloomer. She took her first drawing class at 30. She left her education job for art at 39.
You don’t have to be a visual artist like Lisa to follow what she’s saying. Lisa also shared her thoughts on how to bridge the gap between your expectations, and the reality of what you make, plus, the importance of just getting out there and beginning the work. You can download the episode to hear about it. Then, please, share your own thoughts and tag them #HelloMonday so I can jump into the conversation.
Here are some highlights….
On the decision to pursue art: “I found this thing that I loved to do more than anything I had ever done. I had never been as motivated to do anything.”
On the tools that helped her get started: “We all sort of laugh now at Flickr because it seems so antiquated compared to Instagram. But I like to call it the original Instagram because it was this place where you could meet other creative people who are either professional artists or photographers, or dabbling in creative projects.”
On talent: “ I still had to do the work and I still had to show up and I still had to practice. I still had to develop my voice as an artist.”
And more on talent: “You might have natural ability but you still have to work really hard to get to the place in your head where your work looks like your vision.”
On the creative process: “We get so caught up in being afraid of not being good enough. It really holds people back not only from beginning the creative process, but from sharing their work in the world.”
On aging: “We must begin to think about the last half of our lives as the most magical, most amazing years.”
I want to hear from you…
Have you contemplated a dramatic career change? One that would require learning a new skill or excelling in a different industry? Drop us a line at [email protected], or post on LinkedIn, using the hashtag #HelloMonday.
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It's interesting reading through all of the comments again, thank you for starting the conversation, it shows that age is irrelevant, we keep on learning throughout out our lives, the hardest thing is taking the step and keeping on going, not giving up when times are difficult and being open to change. One of the interesting things is that as we get older we are often more inclined to give it a go rather than to live with regrets.? I always remember a conversation with my Grandmother who as she neared the end of her time focused on regrets and lost opportunities rather than celebrating the things she had achieved maybe this was her way of accepting the next journey in front of her, but it reinforced my understanding that to live with regrets is not a healthy way to live your life.? We will all have our own times when it will be difficult to focus on the positives and to carry on when it feels an uphill struggle. but the understanding that we are all our own agents of change, that no one else will do it for us can help to take that step and keep going forwards, sideways, round and round and sometimes backwards and in different directions.
It's interesting as I could be described as a late bloomer and I spent many years doing different things, I am self-taught I didn't have the confidence or the opportunity to know that I could make a living from being creative so I naturally? went into working in community roles, I was lucky that being creative? was an asset that I could use as a tool to help me to engage with many different groups of people who wouldn't normally go to art-based activities They, in turn, encouraged to make the decision to have a go at trying to earn at least some of my income from making art and teaching others ? I think that it's not as simple as thinking of ourselves as late bloomers I think that's it's more about modern society expectations that we should know what we want to do when we are young. For many of us our motivations change and wage, opportunities, our surroundings etc all have? a part to play, the difference is as we get older that we often have a clearer idea of what we don't like as much as what we do and for some of us at least we realise that it's better to have tried than to live with regrets
CEO/Managing Partner at Response Marketing
4 年Chad C. Betz
Marketing Strategist, Consultant, Sales Trainer & Speaker.
4 年Well done! I am a career 'late-bloomer' as well. This resonates for sure!?
Research Psychologist by Training | Consumer Experience & Insights Specialist by Practice
4 年Caitlin Lohrberg, PMP?this really clicked with me, and it might offer some inspiration to you as well.?