Friday, September 2, 2011

Take the Leap

Many great things indeed have been achieved by those who chose not to leap into the mainstream
-   Joan Mondale

In the last post, I spoke about gauging "risk" but now I'd like to talk about an action associated as a possible result of risk, and that is "leaping." Many people have been held back from their true potential by not trusting their guts or instincts. As an observer, it is a shame to see brilliant talent hidden underneath a shadowed shield of fear. For instance, it is disheartening to see people create popular mainstream work just because it'll "sells" or because the "everyone else is doing it" mentality. It is distressing to see that potential stunted by such anxiety. Who knows, what may seem weird to others at the time can be the next "big thing."

If you have the guts to keep making mistakes, your wisdom and intelligence leap forward with huge momentum.
-   Holly Near

It is the fear of rejection and the lack of confidence that holds most of us back from being our "true-selves" or from reaching our full potential. However, each little mistake can help us tailor our skills and better ourselves. Those little steps help propel us forward to improvement, knowledge, and experience. If you are able to keep track of fixing mistakes, you'll later be able to track your progress and see how you've grown. My sketchbooks are a way of tracking my art progress even though I cringe at the older art. Now if every time you are able to overcome that little fear when you make a mistake or when things don't turn out as you'd hope. Perseverance and determination are your strongest offense and the key to becoming great.