Have you ever felt like things just aren’t working out? Like you failed at something or even at life in general? Do you feel stuck? Do you want to experience happiness and enjoy more success?
When you think of success, it’s easy to think of people like Walt Disney or any successful person—they are, after all, talented. But talent isn’t everything. A natural talent is not necessarily the key to happiness and success. There are people who have such a gift and transform the world with their artistic talent, but countless others who aren’t successful.
Around here we don’t look backwards for very long.
We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things.
~ Walt Disney ~
Walt Disney is well known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century—and he was certainly successful. But that success came with some difficult challenges. He faced failures and hard times just like we all experience. And yet, through those painful and difficult times, he grew and he learned important lessons that carried him forward and continued to serve him for the rest of his life. Each new failure served as a catalyst. While in the midst of each challenging moment, he still saw the bigger picture, and knew he needed to get past the tension of the moment to move forward.
This is an important part of the artistic process. Artists practice their art with the knowledge that some things will work and others will not—in fact, they expect that some will fail.
So what’s the lesson for you?
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- Are you afraid to make mistakes?
- Do you see struggle as the path to an open door?
- Do you learn from your failures?
- Do you keep “stepping up to the plate” as often as possible?
- Do you see beneath the surface of the moment?
- Do you allow yourself to tackle life with a playful mindset?
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You can engage in your life just like the person who successfully creates or performs art—moving forward, opening doors, and doing new things. Using the dark and muddy moments to grow creates something beautiful. You remain connected to the struggle but grow from it, blossoming into something new and magnificent.
Study these photos:
Just like the successful artist, these elements of nature made a commitment to bring their beauty to light—their own success was not defined by talent or opportunity, but by the persistence and movement they created even in difficult circumstances.
Artistic expression is about process. It’s the participation in events and the experiences along the way—the combining of deep reflection and meaningful action, the beauty of each moment and how it fits into the entire experience—that ultimately results in the creation of the work of art.
Here’s to vision, courage, persistence, surrender. To building momentum. And to beauty!
-Pat Hoy