You should give up your creative dreams.

No, really you should. Stop pursuing your creative dreams and passions. It's all a waste of time. Stop kidding yourself.

Throw in the towel, seriously you should. It's easier than what you're trying to do. Listen to the people who have been telling you to give up. They have a point.

Go get a safe, normal, comfortable job. Collect a regular paycheck. Know what tomorrow brings and the next day and the day after that. Get some normality into your life.

Why are you wasting your time chasing that passion of yours? Are you crazy? It will not get you anywhere. It's just a dream, and dreams never come true. This isn't some Disney movie, this is real life. Wake up to yourself.

You're wasting your time, not to mention ink, paints, paper, memory space on your computer, money buying the gear you need, other people's time, etc. Stop it.

Okay...are you angry yet? Good.

Quitting is easy. It's a cop out. It's lame.

Everyone feels like quitting at some point. Artists, musicians, writers, designers, photographers, filmmakers, and all other creative people.

It happens. You hit a wall. You get overwhelmed. You see other work that intimidates you. People get in your ear and tell you to find something else to do. So you think there's no point continuing. So you quit.

F#ck that.

The only thing you should quit is that way of thinking. Quit that now. Quit the idea of quitting.

Creative people are a self-doubting bunch, we just can't help ourselves at times, it's part of the creative DNA. I know, I have been one of them in the past. It takes a while to knock it out of your system.

Sure, there will always be doubt in your mind about what you're doing, you're not infallible. You're human, it will happen. But you need to push past those feelings.

I remember being told by someone, back when I was in my late teens, that my dreams and vision for what I wanted to do were just that - dreams. They would never come true and I should wake up to myself and get a normal job and stop all this silliness.

But those words had the opposite effect to what the person who told them to me thought they would. It made me even more determined. It motivated me. It instilled an 'I'll show you' attitude within. Once a punk rocker always a punk rocker I guess.

Basically I went - 'f#ck that'.

Pursuing something you're passionate about doesn't come easy. It often comes with mistakes, wrong turns, failures, heartbreak, and more. But that is all part of the journey. If it were easy it would not be worth it.

So the next time someone tells you to quit and give up, ever so politely smile at them and then give them the middle finger...in the nicest possible way of course, even if it's behind their back...at least you know you did it.

Then get back to focussing on what you want to do. The world needs more creativity now more than ever. And for that to happen we need more creative people doing what they do, doing what they love, doing what they were born to do.

I'll leave the final word to actor Robert Downey Jr as he summed it up quite well.

Rodd

I'm a Creative Director / Writer / Strategist / Thinker and a bit more. I work with clients/brands directly and with agencies and production companies. I also teach creative thinking and idea generation to groups and individuals. You can read more of my LinkedIn musings here. You can also find me on Twitter,  Instagram and on Facebook. Or drop me an email – [email protected]

Words (aside from credited quotes) Copyright Rodd Chant 2018

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