Something I get asked A LOT is how I cope with failure, rejection and dead ends. While I am not an expert (in anything), I do have experience under my belt when it comes to the challenges that come with these things. I've experienced more rejection, failure and dead ends then I have success and today I thought I would share some of my insight, experiences and the best advice I can give when it comes to coping with failure.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND:
I have always known I wanted to be an artist. I am not sure the exact age but art and creativity have been in my blood since the beginning. I have two parents who are potters and ran their business from home. This meant creativity and self employment was a big part of my life. Thankfully my parents fostered my interest in art at an early age. Growing up I took drawing classes, participated in art shows, contests and sold my art at craft fairs.
It wasn't until I graduated from high school that the concept of being an artist became real for me. While I had always identified myself as an artist, I fell in love with art in college. From that point on I knew I would do whatever it took to pursue a creative career. Like most, I worked lots of day jobs while working on my portfolio, showing my art and taking on freelance jobs. I landed a really great job in marketing that allowed me to be creative but it never satisfied my craving to make art on my terms. I finally got serious about my dreams and set out to quit my job- a long 5 year process that started with making a plan and setting a lot of goals. After time spent working long days at an office job, lots of rejection, tears, persistence and never giving up, I built a successful creative business. I was able to get to the point (financially and creatively) to quit my day job and take the leap into full time artist and entrepreneur and have never looked back
failure from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
its not failure from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
its ok to be uncomfortable from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
it doesnt matter what people thing from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
be realistic from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
be resilient from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
jump start a creative career- HERE
taking a leap into full time artist- HERE
coping with creative burnout- HERE
the art of chasing a dream- HERE
the art of setting goals- HERE
the art of blogging- HERE and HERE
the things I haven't shared- HERE
stronger than I ever knew- HERE
This is exactly what I needed right now...I have been questioning the direction I am going in recently...I have a major fear of failure...Rejections leading to the feeling of failure...and the feeling of failure leading to self-doubt...uh...its a bad path...
ReplyDeleteThis post was very very very helpful...Thanks so much for sharing this Alisa!
Will it be ok if I share a link to this post of yours on my FB page? I think this will be helpful for so many crafters like me.
My husband recently told me "fail faster". You're absolutely right about all of this. Failure is so scary, but if we can deal with the fact that we will, at some point, fail then we can move on even more quickly to the possibility of success. I've really taken this to heart. I'm going to fail, and I'm going to succeed. Both are actually scary in different ways, but if you hold yourself back you'll never know which one you'll get, and there's so much to be learned from failure, I think that's what my husband meant, if you fail you'll only learn from it and be that much closer to success.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Coping is doing. Do something. Anything.
Thank you. Today I found out I did not get an art position that I REALLY wanted. Your blog post helped put things in a positive perspective and I am moving forward with resilience and honoring myself for putting myself out there. Onward and upward!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Alisa! You really give me hope and encouragement.....big UPS to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Alisa!
ReplyDeleteRemember the famous quote attributed to Thomas Edison for the invention of the light bulb - "I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways it won't work.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this! Just what the doctor ordered.
ReplyDeleteshared.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this valuable advice and inspiration Alisa!
ReplyDeleteThank you! And such very important words to remember in my world from my doodle-sketch-artist-wanna-be world all the way to being an empty nester homemaker-landscaper lol!
ReplyDeleteAlisa, thank you so much for your generosity. I could really feel the spirit of that in all of these videos. I have been a passive observer of your work and blog for a long time now but these videos just inspired me to want to comment because I was so moved by your encouraging generous spirit. Actually, I see this as a thread throughout all your work and communications, not just this one, so thank you so much for being you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts...being resilient is something I need to work on.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your taking the time to speak to us, and to share your experience. Obviously, you have had to go through a lot to get to where you are today. It helps to know that it may not have always been easy, but that you are successful because you kept going, learning, evaluating, and staying true to yourself. I went to art school and did not have a good experience. I am now, many years later, able to create art and share it. You have been a source of encouragement for me for a lot of reasons. Thank you for being so awesome!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Alisa!Online shopping coupons
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell you how much I appreciate you and your inspiration and encouragement. I have been following you since before you made the big jump to quit your "real" job and go into creating your vision full time. I have cheered for you over here in the background, each time you've fulfilled a dream and/or overcome a challenge. I've been amazed at your boundless creativity and have aspired to implement the same no boundary approach in my own life, my own way. I too, have grown creatively these last few years and I thank you for the inspiration you've provided for my journey!
ReplyDelete(Thank you particularly for the video on not caring what people think. That's been a big breakthrough for me personally and artistically! Very freeing!!)
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