A Little Advice on Investing...of a different sort

Every day, thousands of people take a gamble on the Stock Market. Presumably they do their research as best as they are able, or put their trust in those who have. Every day, thousands of people make millions of dollars. And thousands of people lose millions, too. You can act on your knowledge, you can play it safe and gain or lose little or take risks and gain or lose plenty—but there's no guarantee. I'm sure it must be exciting, that kind of venturing into the unknown.

But I prefer a different kind of investing, and I encourage you other artists to take the plunge along with me. Namely, it is investing in yourselves. No great gain is possible without taking risks—and deciding to invest time to write, paint, etc. is quite a risk. You'll lose sleep. You'll lose that favorite TV show. Deciding to invest emotion in a creation is a risk. You'll lose more sleep. You'll get frustrated when it's not going well and euphoric when it is, often to be thrown down to depression again when somebody doesn't like it. A lot of people won't believe in you and a lot of the time you won't believe in yourself.

However...despite all these risks and potential drawbacks—shouldn't we be more confident in our own gifts than in guesses about stocks? We know ourselves. We know our strengths and our weaknesses—or at least we are learning them. You may have to invest a lot of time and emotion (and possibly money) into the venture, but it will become more than a venture: an adventure. And you will gain knowledge and experience and virtue. You will learn and grow and develop and so will your art. This won't happen if you sit back and ignore that little voice, that calling, or if you drown it out with television shows and constant clanging of pots and pans. (Nothing against pots and pans of course, but they need to learn their place sometimes...)

Like the best investments, this is one that may take years to reach complete fulfillment. But when it does, you won't be the only successful party. The world will benefit from your perseverance—I will benefit from it and my children will benefit from it. So please keep up the good work. Listen to the voice of your calling and ignore the hundreds of voices that tell you to give up. Trust. And do not be afraid.