When you pursue a creative career, you’re not supposed to be comfortable. Comfort means you’re playing it safe. It means you’re reluctant to stretch toward your full potential.

You’re never going to move forward without taking any risks. A creative life requires you to push yourself more and more each day. You have to venture outside of your comfort zone. You have to take on projects that scare you.

The second you get lazy is the second you stop moving forward. Your talent is a muscle. In order to strengthen your abilities, you have to keep doing what you love each and every day. You have to work, even when you’re uninspired. You have to work, even when you wish you could sleep through the day. You have to work, even when it feels like work.

You shouldn’t put too much on your plate at once, you shouldn’t keep going until you burn yourself out, but you should recognize how much hard work it takes to succeed in a creative career. You can’t half-ass your work. You can’t assume nothing bad will happen if you slack since you’re your own boss and no one is going to punish you.

You have to pour your heart into every project. Otherwise, your audience is going to be able to tell you weren’t invested. They are going to lose interest fast. Even if you manage to fool them, you’re never going to be able to trick yourself.

On the days when you aren’t in the mood to get any work done, remind yourself you chose this career for a reason. You could have worked a comfortable nine to five job with a reliable paycheck until you reached retirement, but you followed your heart instead of the crowd. Pursuing your passions sounds glamorous, but in reality, it isn’t easy. It’s one of the hardest things you will ever do.

You Will Have To Push Yourself

Remember, a creative life requires that you are always pushing yourself just a little more. You have to make sacrifices as an artist. You have to work long hours. You have to put your heart and soul into your creations.

You aren’t always going to have time to see your friends on weekends. You aren’t always going to have enough money to spend on dinner and drinks. Even though everyone calls you lucky for working your dream job, there are times when your dreams are going to get in the way of your fun.

Despite what some people might think, living a creative life doesn’t mean you work a few hours and fool around the rest of the day on your computer. If you’re serious about pursuing your passions, you’re going to feel like your work is never done. You’ll always have a new idea in your head.

You’ll always have an email to send. You’ll always have trouble enjoying your downtime because you could be networking with other artists or updating your website or doing giveaways on social media. A creative life is not as simple and carefree as it sounds. It’s busy, busy, busy.

If you want to live a creative life, you can never settle. You can never get too comfortable. You need to keep pushing yourself forward day after day, week after week, year after year.

It’s tough to make a living with a creative career. Talent is not enough. You also need passion, dedication, and the desire to work your hardest. If you get lazy, then you are never going to get anywhere. You need to make a pact with yourself to keep taking steps forward, to never get stuck in place.