Love your own art: are you turning up as an amateur or a Pro?

Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you are loved up or happily single how self loved do you and your inner artiste feel? As well as sending random thoughts of love to strangers as I walk past I have been ruminating on how important that we take the time to cherish ourselves and our dreams. Men may come & go but the big dreams are always there in our hearts.
Too many times I see friends throw all into some never ending dramatic, always breaking & ultimately unfulfilling relationship whilst the book, album, script, film or painting exhibition they keep talking about never happens. Quite frankly if they gave 10% of the energy they give to these men to their ‘soul dreams’ they would have finished wonderful work. I am not saying ‘don’t love’ or don’t have Le Grande Passion(s) but do ensure it is just a part of your existence not the whole of it.
The chances are if you have a focus and make time for your artistic commitments then your relationships will be the richer and more stable for it.
Someone once said ‘Artists can marry but they must marry well’ and even Ernest Hemingway through the drama and drinking managed 5 hours of daily solid writing.

So one question I would like you to ask yourself as your own personal self-loving V day gift is

Am I turning up as an amateur or a pro?’

This is based on the wonderful ‘War Of Art’ by Steven Pressfield where he talks about amateurs only working on their craft when the muse strikes, when they have positive feedback or when there is no drama in their life. Pro’s do their work no matter what happens, they make it work, they start the next project as soon as the last one is finished whether it was a flop or a success.

In 2014 so far I have booked 4 short films and a commercial directed by the amazing award winning director Joanna Bailey. I am writing this at Victoria station having been to the gym for 9am, a casting at 12 & I am waiting for my ‘husband’ to turn up (I haven’t met him yet) as we are travelling to Southampton to do a 2 day location shoot. I also heard that a documentary I narrated last year has been nominated for a Royal Television Student Award. Plus despite not having an agent (though my old one wants me back as he has opened a new agency) I have been averaging 5 castings every 7 days.

I have had 3 friends this week alone ask me where I am getting my castings from. There is no secret place, I have just been turning up like a Pro this year. Every day I write letters, I shrug off rejections and I keep working at my craft no matter what man may or not call me, how I feel, no matter where my muse hides I find her and drag her out.

Happy Valentines Day and go do one thing for your creative soul that makes you feel like a Pro today. Rinse and repeat.
Oh and only kiss people who think you are wonderful, if they don’t it is far better to be happily alone than not fully loved. I got a lovely text this morning about ‘every moment of a happy lover’s hour is worth an age of dull and common life’ Indeed!!!