Fear of Failure

I read an amazing book recently...The War of Art. The author, Steven Pressfield, beautifully explains how urgently important it is for me to be writing more, creating more art, and being more actively part of my community. It is clear to me now that there are so many reasons not to be doing my art, but I now will fight all of these forms of "resistance" with all my sweat and soul. Resistance, in all its devilish and invisible skills, can be an enormously evil monster. I have no time for it any longer. It's one of the best books I have ever read, for it has inspired me greatly.

I am excited about blogging, for it forces me to practice self expression with word, utilize my creative mind, and honors my integrity that I will follow through with my desire to participate in a world of art. There has always been a creative part of me that I let go dormant so long ago. I was a constant painter and drawer as a child and teenager, and this constant desire to do art fell asleep somewhere along the way. To my credit, I fell in love with skateboarding and was 100% dedicated to it, but I let much of my artistic pursuits underneath an old muddy clay bed of poorly irrigated wastelands. The only sign of life was an insecure little mole that would pop its head up to check the weather and look for meager sustenance. All of my bullshit was formed in a fantasy world living only in my head, and it just held me back from even trying. I have recently bitch slapped myself into realizing that any and all of my fears will never go away. True accomplishment has always been preceded by great fear. The comfort of catering to my fears made me lazy, dishonest, and pathetic. What a baby to think that "not doing and not participating" was powerful. Doing and being is the greatest strength of an artist and I accept the challenge. Therefore, I will write all the time and prepare daily for all of my welding sculptures. I will post pictures of my art on my blog. I really don't care if anyone "follows" me right now, because I am doing it for my own need to challenge myself. This is my creative journal. The glory of a home run is nothing compared to the immense bravery it takes to step up to the plate. Failure and fear of failure is better than nothing at all.