“Very often audacity, not talent, makes one person an artist and another a shadow artist–hiding

I have started back onto Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way” for maybe the tenth time since I first cracked it open em in the mid-1990′s. I’ll confess to never making it all the way through. Mid-way, there’s always been something else that captured my attention (we call this “squirrel” in my home) so I was reluctant to take the chance on starting anew. However this time, the goal is not so much to do it within a space of perfection, but from a simple space of being aware and noticing what stands out most – and what I tend to skim over.

What caught my eye today from the first Week 1 chapter is the quote in the header about audacity….this struck a nerve. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an award winning photograph in a magazine or a gallery and thought what the heck….I could have done that. Or read an article on a hot game changing photographer only to go to their website to view their work and feel like, ‘really – THIS is what all the buzz is about’?

These moments are negative and debilitating. Not only do they leave me with a sense of (lack of better word) “ick” in my gut, it’s just not a productive space to be in. What’s true, if I am really honest and move past the obvious bit of envy, it comes down to one simple work – audacity.

So I looked it up.

This not only feels better inside, it is a more powerful space to be in.