What's the real key to whether an artist will be successful or not?

The biggest differentiating factor isn’t the quality of your work—it’s whether you can crash through the quitting point. Can you push through that moment when you’re ready to hang up your hat and say ‘this doesn’t work’? Success comes from going through that torturous regime of suffering and misery for long enough that you break through to the other side. You’ll face a devil on your shoulder telling you your art isn’t good, no one likes it, art doesn’t sell, just quit. If you can resist that voice and keep going with disciplined effort over time, that’s what determines success.

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Asked by an artist struggling with self-doubt · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2024-12-03