Every activity worth doing has a learning curve.

You have brilliance in you, your contribution is valuable, and the art you create is precious. Only you can do, and you must.

The problem with competition is that it takes away the requirement to set your own path, to invent your own method, to find a new way.

No, everything is not going to be okay. It never is. It isn't okay now. Change, by definition, changes things

Habits are more powerful than fears.

The competitive advantages the marketplace demands is someone more human, connected, and mature. Someone with passion and energy, capable of seeing things as they are and negotiating multiple priorities as she makes useful decisions without angst. Flexible in the face of change, resilient in the face of confusion. All of these attributes are choices, not talents, and all of them are available to you.

Being an artist isn't a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It's an attitude we can all adopt. It's a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things, you're an artist.