Tag / Leonardo da vinci

by Nathan Coumbe

Rockstars are rare (and they probably aren’t you)

The idea of being a “rockstar” is a relatively new phenomenon. Flying around in a jet, playing music in packed out stadiums for millions of dollars a year—that really only started in the 1960s. 

For most of human history, artists created simply to create. They weren’t seeking fame or fortune. The cavemen who painted the walls at Lascaux didn’t get paid for it…

As time went by, certain arts became trades—skills performed in exchange for money or goods. 

J.S. Bach was a musician, a brilliant and talented one at that. But he was a musician because his father was a musician. He went into the family business. 

Leonardo da Vinci—magnificent genius though he was—was a tradesman. He was NOT our idea of a superstar artist.

These artists were creating to create. It was their day job, but it was also what they wanted to do.

I think the “Rockstar Era” warped our understanding of what being an artist is like for most people… And what it’s supposed to be about.

And that same “Rockstar Era” has fast come to an end. It’s harder and harder for someone to become Taylor Swift or Ye. There was a window to make that happen, and it looks like it’s over. 

There will always be outliers—the artist who sells 10 million records or the TikTok influencer with 1 billion followers.

But it probably won’t happen to you. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t create art. It just means you need to focus your efforts on the act of creation and on service, rather than seeking fame and fortune.

by Nathan Coumbe

We Are Our Own Worst Critics

Artists tend to have little faith in themselves or their work. They prejudge, rewrite, and scrap work without ever letting the work just “be.” 

We don’t feel it’s good enough, so we don’t hit “Publish” or “Post”. We fail to contact that company or that prospective client with a work proposal because we don’t feel we are good enough to get the job. 

I’ll let you in on a little secret:

Your work isn’t good enough.

It isn’t good enough by your own definition of “good enough to ship,” which in all likelihood is actually the definition of “perfect.” It’s not good enough for your impossibly high standards. 

That doesn’t mean it isn’t good. It might even be great. 

If your definition of “good enough” is actually “perfect,” you will fail. Nothing you ever make will be perfect. Nothing will ever be “finished” with that mindset. 

Ship your work anyway. 

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.”

–Leonardo da Vinci

It is when we decide to abandon our work that it’s good enough to ship. Some work will be better than others; some days you will struggle.

But you are an artist, and artists create.

You will never feel that what you produce is good enough. It’s called “The Resistance”. Your amygdala – the “fight or flight” part of your brain – is telling you to run and hide to avoid being criticized or judged. 

It is wrong. Don’t listen to it. Ship your work anyway. Don’t procrastinate because you don’t think it’s perfect (it never will be). 

Don’t let the definition of “perfection” become your definition of “good enough.” That way leads only to frustration and regret. 

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