As an artist and writer ( www.brianleedurfee.com ) I continually get asked the question "where do you get your ideas?". My answer is always been "how does a person NOT have ideas!". My mind is bursting with so many ideas for paintings and n...ovels i wanna write I'd have to live ten lifetimes to accomplish it all. I think most folks have good 'ideas'. The question they are really asking is "where do you get your ambition?" so my next few Facebook posts are going to be titled 'Durfee's top 5 ways to achieve greatness in the arts through ambition" or something like that.
#5) YOUR SOCIAL LIFE MUST BE CUT BY 90%! It just does. And in one fell swoop I just eliminated 99.9999% of the world's population. If you are truly passionate about art, writing, music, ect (and becoming truly great at it) you understand this. Why? Because when the rest of the world is out partying, you find you'd rather be perfecting your art. Why? Because it's just WHAT YOU DO!
#4) DON"T BECOME PARALIZED BY YOUR FEAR OF FAILURE, RIDICULE, OR REJECTION. The facts are: you can toil your life away to perfect your craft and the odds that the world as a whole will notice our care about what you've created are slim, and there is no guaruntee that anyone will pay you a billion $$ in the end. But still you create. Because THAT IS WHAT YOU DO! You have to define your own success. Don't let anyone else define it for you.
#3) WORK HARD AND DON'T QUIT. Do not be a lazy ass in any facet of your life. If a person works their tail off at their day job, be it diggin ditches, flippin burgers, cleaning carpets, nursing, doctering, lawyering, that will translate to a great work ethic in their creative life. You just get shit done no matter what cuz THAT IS WHAT YOU DO! A lazy ass is just a lazy ass and never amounts to diddly poo. Oh, and lazy asses are quiters. So DON'T QUIT!
#2) BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! When it comes to what you create always trust your own instincts above anyone elses. Be willing to listen to advice, take criticism, and incorperate the 'good' ideas others may offer. But be smart enuff to spot bad advice. Because this is your art, it is WHAT YOU DO! However, if someone's gonna pay you a billion$$$ to turn your Pulitzer prize winning novel into a sock puppet show, or commision you to paint pink ninja unicorns doing battle in in a butterfly fairy gladiator arena, then by all means DO IT!!! Don't be an idiot.
#1) DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYTHING DURFEE HAS TO SAY!!! Now that is some sound advice, brutha. Everyone's path is their own. And thank you very much for your participation
