Keep Showing Up When Most People Quit

The good news? There is no end goal. Your creative life gets to keep going as long as you do!

In a world that values instant gratification, it's easy to get discouraged when the results you crave don't materialize overnight. But the truth is, the most rewarding journeys are often those where you have to put one foot in front of the other, day after day, even when the finish line seems impossibly far away.

As the legendary artist Chuck Close once said, "Inspiration is for amateurs -- the rest of us just show up and get to work." The reality is, creativity is not a linear process. It's messy, it's nonlinear, and it's often a slog. But it's in those moments when you feel like giving up that the real magic happens.

"The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure." - Sven Goran Eriksson

When you keep showing up, even when every fiber of your being wants to throw in the towel, you're training your brain to push past the resistance. You're building the muscle memory and the stamina to weather the storms and keep moving forward.

And here's the kicker: it's on the other side of those moments of doubt and despair that your fullest potential lies. As artist and author Austin Kleon says, "The only way out is through."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." - Ambrose Redmoon

So the next time you feel like quitting, remember that the greats didn't get there by giving up. They kept showing up, day after day, slowly chipping away at their craft until they emerged on the other side, forever changed.

Your creative life is a marathon, not a sprint. And the only way to reach the finish line is to keep putting one foot in front of the other, no matter how tempting it might be to throw in the towel. The good news is, there is no finish line. Your journey gets to keep going as long as you do!