How do you overcome setback after setback and keep moving forward?

It was 2004, and my now-husband had just told me that he wanted me to stay home and be with our future kids.

Being a stay-at-home mom hadn’t even occurred to me at the time as an option. Both of my parents had worked my entire life.

I wasn’t against being a stay-at-home mom, but I wanted to contribute to our family finances. This started my search for a work-from-home method that would allow me to achieve my desire.

Here is a list of things I tried: (remember, this was in the early 2000s when I started)

• surveys
• selling vacation packages
• real estate short-sales
• printables
• funnel design

Here is a list of things I did and made money:

• copywriting
• marketing
• e-commerce
• writing
• blogging

Now, I’m sure there are things I have forgotten to list here. There were so many things I tried.

I was in such a hurry to make money that if what I was trying didn’t work, I would find a new way to make money. I never gave any of these paths a long enough go to make money.

Another thing I had a problem with was putting myself out there. I was terrified of stepping out into the world and having people judge me, question what I was doing, or even tell me I was doing it all wrong.

Through all of this, I learned a lot! Here are a few lessons I learned.

1. You can either be a dabbler or a master.
2. People don’t have the patience to build a business for three years, but they do have the patience to go to work for thirty years.
3. The past happened. Stop trying to rewrite it. Learn from it and move forward.
4. Always keep growing.
5. Life is short. Time doesn’t stop. Enjoy the stage of life you are in.

None of these things are new. None of them are crazy over the time. They are just plain truth.

You can either be a dabbler or a master.

Up until 2022, I was a dabbler. If I didn’t see the desired results, I would move on to the next big shiny thing. This behavior took so much time away from my goal that I wasted years chasing that quick dollar instead of putting my head down and developing the skills I needed for my art.

To be a master, you must give yourself time and grace to hone your skills in any creative field. You must be willing to create horrible art to grow and get to the good stuff.

Permit yourself not to do everything perfectly the first time and to explore new mediums of art and creativity—permission to work, learn, and walk this path instead of sprinting off it. There is a reason slow and steady wins the race.

Patience People

People don’t have the patience to build a business for three years, but they do have the patience to go to work for thirty years.

This statement is frightening to me. People have dreams they want to pursue but are terrified to step away from safety and go after them. Years later, they reflect on their lives and regret not giving their dreams a fair shot.

I’m not talking about being irresponsible and quitting your job with no way to take care of your family. I’m saying, ditch the evening TV that you watch for five hours and spend time building your dreams. Take a SkillShare class to learn how to use Procreate. Sign up for a local art class. Take an online course to teach you all the skills you need to build an art business.  

Again, working towards a goal at a steady pace is worth every minute of effort.

The past happened. Stop trying to rewrite it. Learn from it and move forward.

It is easy to dwell on the past. There are things I wish I had not done and things I wish I had done. We all make choices that can not be undone, but we can always move forward.

Instead of wishing to redo something or dwelling in the past, we, myself included, need to trust that God’s path for us is perfect. It is hard to see what God is doing, but He is working all things out for our good.

Learn from the past. You made mistakes. They happened. What do you need to learn from them? How will those choices help you move forward to what you need to be doing? How will you use all those experiences for a better now and tomorrow?

Always keep growing.

It wasn’t until 2021 that I started growing plants. Just like gardening, you must keep growing when trying to build a skill or a business. You must water your creativity, find new ways to be inspired, learn, and try new things.

No more growth occurs when you stop working towards your goals and give up. Just like a seed just below the surface of the dirt, you don’t know how close you are to having a victory, so you must keep watering. It could only take one more watering to see the sprout come out of the dirt. Don’t give up. Your dreams are worth the effort.

Life is short. Time doesn’t stop. Enjoy the stage of life you are in.

Time is the one thing you will never get more of. Businesses, ideas, and careers come and go. You can put them on hold and come back to them later, but time NEVER stops.

Having a business is great. Building an art career is rewarding, special, and life-changing, but don’t miss out on the special moments with your family to check email, paint one more picture, or pitch one more client.

The time will be gone before you can step away from your computer and you will never get it back.

Do your work when you are supposed to, and do not sacrifice your family to build a business, even an art business. Make sure you have your priorities right and enjoy every stage of life you are in.

These are five lessons I’ve learned over the years of building an art business. It took me eighteen years to realize that putting in the effort to master my craft was time well spent and would lead to a happier, healthier, and longer art career. Each person needs to embrace the stage of life they are in as an individual, wife, mother, and artist. Don’t keep looking behind you. God still has plans for you.

Until next week, Happy Creating.

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