I’m going to keep this post short because I am getting ready to leave to fulfill a long held “bucket list” wish.
I’m going to Kona to swim with the dolphins in the wild.
Two weeks ago I visited with my dear friend Simon in the hospital.
I am so grateful to Simon because not only is he a dear friend, he has been my mentor, teaching me how to sell to the luxury market.
Much of Simon’s wisdom is shared with you on Artists Who THRIVE.
Unfortunately, Simon has been given less than six months to live.
I visited with him and his lovely wife.
What does a dying man talk about? Less about the future and more about fond past moments.
While they reminisced about the cherished times when they traveled together, they glowed.
I was on the fence about taking this trip to Kona.
When I mentioned my reluctance to Simon, true to form, he mentored me again. He said, “Go! And enjoy this trip as if it was your last.”
I knew he was right and I’ve known that need a meaningful and complete break.
I’ve been working so hard on building my art enterprise and this is the first really restful vacation I have taken since I started my business over over eight years ago.
Another good friend reminded me that “Even a boxer sits in his corner between rounds.”
Since I’m planning two major launches and a 30-Day Course on Creative Live, I need to rest up, reinvigorate, and forget my relentless to-do list and SMARTER goal.
Many artists I know work really hard.
Life can’t just be about work.
Let’s keep it real. An artist’s path is not an easy one.
We often work harder because we swallow the notion artists must continuously struggle and strive.
But witnessing Simon’s sudden illness has renewed my commitment to working smarter not harder and less not longer.
- Did you take a break this year?
- What shifted for you?
- How did you feel afterwards?
- Was your creativity enhanced?
I’m curious about what you think.
Please post your comments below.
Did you enjoy this article?
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The Date on this post , Aug 27th was also my 50th birthday. My commitment is find a way to realize the potential within me as an artist ans mentor and to drill down to what is most important. I am now in day 3 of your Creative Live course and am so grateful to be able to have you help me finally get to the core of my why and my vision. I need this like a drowning man needs a life raft.
Thank you as well for sharing about your dear friend and mentor.
Thank you Tara,
Me too!
Hi Ann,
I am so glad you did this and treated yourself. You work hard and have amazing focus.
Best,
Tara
You’re very welcome.
None of us can actually do everything we would like to do.
Congratulations on seizing the important opportunities that are available to you.
Thank you Karen!
Thank you for letting me know! Stay tuned. I have another Creative Live course coming up this year.
Great! I hope that you have current one-page business and marketing plans.
I did enjoy swimming with the dolphins! It was amazing.
Taking breaks is key to maintaining a healthy everyday life. When I am home and working my mind is forever racing and thinking about my work. This year I did take a wonderful break. My husband and I visited San Francisco for a week over the summer. We decided instead of taking cabs we would walk everywhere(well, almost everywhere). We had 2 days where we walked about 10 miles on each day and it was wonderful. I did not do one bit of work during that time. Just really relaxed and enjoyed my husband and my son. We did make an effort to see some artwork in San Francisco and found some wonderful galleries and actually met another paper artist (my medium). I had the opportunity to spend some time with her discussing how much we both love paper. We had wonderful meals, went bike riding, went to the farmers market, visited Muir Woods, my husband and son went sailing while I spent some quiet time with my son’s sweet girlfriend. I came home refreshed, renewed and ready to get back to work. It was perfect.
Enjoy your trip to swim with the dolphins. Hope you find it to be as rewarding as my trip was.
Yes, in fact this is the summer I decided to take a 6 month break from worrying about sales. I’ve been painting professionally for 20 years.
What prompted the break is that I sold a lot of paintings at an antique shop, but after my booth rental and supplies, etc… My annual net profit was only $2000. I decided that wasn’t working, since I used to make a lot more. The booth has a price ceiling, and it’s too low for original work. Well, too low to make a decent profit.
So, I’m taking 6 months to work on larger works while experimenting, finding my own style, and learning new things (not just in my head) but with a brush in my hand. Painting small, inexpensive works led to me feeling like a painting factory. While some artists thrive on daily paintings, they’re just not fulfilling for me. I enjoy painting slowly.
It has led to better creativity, more time to spend with friends and family, and far less stress.
If any of the larger works happen to exceed my current work in terms of quality, I’ll sell reproductions and hang onto the originals. A little semi-passive income seems right for me at this time.
Lori
Hi Ann, I’m surprised to hear you haven’t taken a real vacation in eight years. I’m glad to hear about your trip. I want to let you know, after the cl class you did this year, a number of us were able to connect and form artist mastermind groups using facebook, and are still meeting and supporting each other. This has been a big benefit for me, since I haven’t had any support for the work I’ve been doing, and others, I wanted you to know about this positive impact you’ve had on a number of artists. Thanks so much Ann
Ann
I love your blog! Thank you thank you!
Karen
It comes down to making the most of what I have today for me. Life has to be about celebration. I have fought undiagnosed illness that almost took me for all of my life. Once I got diagnosed and feeling better, I took a trip to Colorado to experience and photo a 800 head horse drive. It was a sacrifice, but it was truly a way of celebrating living and having an new lease on life.
Now, I can’t approach my photography in the way I want to, but I can take iPhone photos. I lost confidence not being able to work on my computer, but this is helping me just have fun and find confidence again. And I take iPhone images of the things that allow me to celebrate the life I live.
While I can’t always go do what I want now, I can celebrate where ever I am. Planting those seeds now where I can go will pay off at some point although I don’t know how and when.
While I still have a few months ahead of working hard to get my health back, I am going to celebrate my photography in whatever form I can to lay seeds for my business and for living my life to the fullest.
An Artist’s life can be a struggle at times. For me lately I took a hiatus to help my community. The desire to help others outweighed the desire to focus on myself. I know that this is my purpose for now but I am so ready to get back to my work. Our little town was struggling economically and I was able to use my marketing contacts and creative problem solving skills to help them. I am going to blog about it soon. I have made some wonderful friends and learned new things as well I have kept a connection with the Art world via newsletters like yours and others. ..Thank you
Have fun in Kona. I haven’t taken a vacation in years. It’s something I really need to do.