The Most Prolific Artists (and what they can teach you)

Successful authors, musicians, poets, and painters can teach you a lot about success, business, and life. They’ve been on a roller-coaster ride that few of us will experience, but we can all learn something from them.

Hard Work Trumps Talent

Most artists — musicians, authors, poets, painters — begin their careers believing that talent is all that matters. If you’re good enough, someone will eventually recognize your talent and the acclaim will come.

Photo by?jesse orrico?on?Unsplash

It’s something that I have seen in countless individuals during my lifetime and the vast majority of those people never make it.

In one instance, I recall a great musician who had all the talent in the world and wanted to be a successful performer, but he didn’t write music, he wasn’t in a band, he refused to play any gigs, and he spent all of his time playing by himself in his mother’s basement.

He did this for over 20 years before he finally started making money, and that’s only because he got a job at the local Walmart.

The idea that “talent is all you need” is a myth perpetuated by Hollywood. We all like to think that we’re the protagonists of life. We’re the down-and-out creators who struggle through life but always have their talent to fall back on. And regardless of what life throws at us, we convince ourselves that by the end of our story, we’ll have the happy ending that we somehow deserve.

That can happen, but you have to go looking for success. It won’t come to you.

Anyone who says that talent is all you need is usually not making any money from their craft or is just scraping by. Truly successful artists will tell you that it’s 10% talent and 90% hard work — you need the skills, but you also need to put the hours in.

You Can Be Prolific and Good

Another common myth is that the best work is produced sporadically. You can be amazing or prolific, but you can’t be both.

Photo by?Amy Shamblen?on?Unsplash

That’s simply not true.

Sure, some artists let their standard drop as they increase their workload, but the same would be true if they were only writing 1 book/album every 3 years but were spending the rest of that time working 12 hours a day in an office.

The idea that great work needs lots of time and periods of rest is something that many artists tell themselves as an excuse to procrastinate.

Between 1963 and 1966, Philip K. Dick penned 16 novels (all using a typewriter), and they included some of his most celebrated works, including?Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?(on which?Bladerunner?was based),?Ubik, The Penultimate Truth, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, The Simulacra,?and?Dr. Bloodmoney.

Isaac Asimov wrote up to half a dozen books a year during the same period and by the ’70s he was into double figures every year.

Picasso painted over 50,000 works during his lifetime. Shakespeare wrote over 38 plays and nearly 90,000 lines of poetry (despite dying aged 52). Willie Nelson wrote 337 songs.

Sure, some authors only write one book and some musicians only record one great album. But if you put the work in, you can be both prolific?and?exceptional.

You Don’t Need “XYC”

In previous articles, I have spoken at length about?the Toolbox Fallacy. It’s something that has also been hinted at several times on?Growth By Sabir?and?This Week With Sabir. In simple terms, it’s something that most artists do and something that prevents them from achieving their goals.

Photo by?Dean's Photo?on?Unsplash

It follows the logic of “I need X before I can do Y”, such as “I need a new laptop before I can write my novel” or “I need some new recording software before I can write my album”. It’s an excuse that we use to convince ourselves we’re not stalling and really will do that thing, it’s just that we’re not adequately equipped.

It’s generally not something you will encounter in the lives and careers of great artists.

If Shakespeare can write nearly 90,000 lines of poetry with nothing but a quill, parchment, and candlelight, you can write your novel on an old laptop or typewriter. If Bill Withers could write timeless songs after only learning the basics on guitar, you don’t need to master advanced jazz fusion before you write your first riff.

We live in such a technologically advanced age that we forget artists have existed for hundreds of years without laptops, typewriters, music software, digital pianos, Photoshop — people created because they wanted to create.

The same should be true for you and for everything that you want to do. It doesn’t matter what your dream is and what roadblocks you put in your way, if you truly want to do that thing, you will find a way.

Want to become a pilot and don’t have the funds to learn? Read some manuals, save some cash, and play some Flight Simulator while you wait. Want to write music but don’t have the latest $1,000 software? Record some melodies on your phone and take it from there. Don’t have a laptop to write your novel? Buy a cheap typewriter or start with pen and paper.

Success is Just Part of the Journey

The problem with success is that it isn’t always as warm and cozy as you anticipate. When you’re working hard and are desperate for success, it’s hard to imagine that success would be anything but fantastic. That’s what you’re working toward and getting there would be like winning the lottery of life.

Photo by?the blowup?on?Unsplash

But if you ask anyone who has wanted it that much and has eventually achieved it, they’ll tell you that it’s not all that great. Success doesn’t automatically make your life easier, nor does it make you happier. You still have lots of stress and responsibilities and now that you have more to lose, your paranoia intensifies. You’re not desperate to achieve anymore, but you are desperate to stay successful/relevant.

It’s the human condition — we will always want more, and we will always find something to worry about.

It’s why super-successful artists get everything they ever wanted (money, fame, an immortal legacy) and yet are still depressed, with many of them turning to alcohol and drugs.

It is not because they are artists and are somehow more prone to substance abuse problems. It’s because they are human and that’s just the way we’re programmed.