Scott Young has a good post called Steady, Incremental Improvement Is A Myth and even though it doesn’t mention the arts, a lot of it is sure relevant. Young says…

People like to talk about success stories.  A lot of focus is put on the triggering event, the moment that made that person successful.  The person who loses 100 lbs on a miracle diet.  The person who starts a blog and turns it into a financial success.  The people that think of an invention and turn it into a successful start-up.

 

Less attention is paid to the silent investments leading up to that success.  The years of practice, the failed attempts, the mistakes.  Success stories are written that these people succeeded in spite of their past blunders.  I say they succeeded because of them.

Be sure to read his whole article For me, my first political YouTube video got 50,000 views in the first first days and kept growing from there. That’s what Young calls the triggering event but I’ve been doing video production for about 30 years before that and I did improv comedy for over a decade with no discernable successes in comedy.

If someone young asked me if they should pursue a career in the arts, I’d ask them if they were willing to wait most of their life for just the chance to be successful. If not, don’t bother. If so – well, join the club. I’m turning 44 this next yeasr and I still my best days are ahead of me.

Have you had your triggering event yet? Maybe you’re pre-success.  Keep focusing on the work, keep putting stuff out there, learn to promote yourself and your own overnight sensation could strike any time. Or it may take a while longer. Or it may not happen in your lifetime. (Ask Van Gogh.) Or ever. That’s the risk we take.

And I still beleive it’s worth it, don’t you?