"Confidence is a Habit, Not an Identity... Build It Like a Muscle." -Jen Casey

IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!

Confidence is probably more important than talent in the art business.  Spend your weekend refreshing your confidence stores...

Hey, fam! Somebody posted a meme with the quote "Whatever you're doing today, do it with all the confidence of a four-year-old in a Batman t-shirt" in one of the groups I'm in on Facebook earlier this week, and it reminded me of this drawing I did for a client waaaay back in 2010. So I dug up the drawing and made my own meme. Confidence by Samax Amen Adobe Photoshop I couldn't track down the original source of the quote, though...  It's driving me crazy, so if you know who it is, get at me! Anyways, this drawing was originally done as a portrait commission.  This kid is probably in high school now, if not college! If you need a jolt of confidence looking at you every morning (who doesn't?!?!), click the blue button below to buy an 8"x 8"  print for $17 (includes domestic shipping). Buy This Print! $17 In an earlier piece I shared about Reframing, we find some more nuggets about confidence: "All Identities are Chosen- You might conclude that a person who loses a lot is a loser, but the people who win the most also tend to lose the most. In other words, being a loser is the result of how one chooses to see themselves after a loss, not the result of losing itself. Do the Best You Can and Have No Regrets- Jen Casey talks about how she learned that focusing on doing her best at auditions took the sting out of rejections, which are a common part of the process. This led into a long discussion about Confidence.  It's easy to look at Confidence as a natural Identity... Something we either have or we don't. Casey assures us that Confidence starts as a Habit that we must Build Like a Muscle. When our confidence is weak, it is a form of Emotional Atrophy.  Like muscles, Confidence must be built, as well as maintained. The Habit of Maintaining Confidence Leads to the Identity of being a Confident person. You don't have to choose atrophy.  Things fall apart on their own." HOW TO BE CONFIDENT Embrace the inevitability of making mistakes. Stop being so in love with your own dignity and seriousness. Failure is normal.  It means you're learning.  In fact, in his book Hardwired for Entrepreneurship James Wedmore suggests that failure isn't even a real thing.  "Either things worked as expected, or they didn't.  If they didn't, you have an opportunity to learn what went differently than expected and why." EDUCATE YOURSELF If you're doing commissions, or anything where you're making money by helping other people with your art skills, you're a freelancer. Freelancing is one of the quickest, easiest, and most rewarding ways for artists to make money. But there is definitely a wrong way to do it.   This week we dropped a new e-book called #FreelancingFAIL  to help you be as confident as possible that you're doing it the RIGHT way. Click Here for more info.   Need help with anything, fam?  I'm not actively looking for clients right now, but I'm down to help my fellow artists if you need me. So just email me or get at me on Facebook Messenger if you need my help with anything. Thanks again for reading,  fam. Have a great day! -Samax ("some AX") Amen StarvingArtistsAnonymous.com Brought to You By: