Do you want to level up your creative career?
Have a hunger to reach the career heights that you desperately want?
Alongside showcasing my new illustration work on this blog, from publishing, advertising to design commissions, I also publish monthly creative career tips and tricks, perfect for those of you who are thinking about getting into the creative industry, or those of who are already within the industry, who want some extra knowledge!
This is not to say that I have all the knowledge and expertise, and have worked with the biggest brands and companies (however this is something which I’m always working towards), but I do believe I can offer help and experience of being a freelance illustrator to help you succeed.
Within this blog post you will discover how you can achieve and reach your goals, and help you turn yourself into a successful creative, from illustrators, graphic designers to fine artists. You will discover how big goals can actually help you succeed!
No goal is too big
Let’s think about some of the world’s greatest sports stars, Andy Murray for example.
He dedicates himself to his sport to refine his craft and skill, he is consistent with his training so he develops his body, and most of all, he practises his skill so is was at the very top level of tennis. Think of it as practising in a sketchbook, working on those mistakes and learning day in day out.
He has maintained this for a number of years, including 2 time Wimbledon and Olympic Champion, which is an incredible achievement.
You might be thinking, “but I’m not a world class athlete like Andy Murray, so this doesn’t apply to me. I don’t have his luck, his talent or the team which he has.”
But why can’t this apply to you as a professional in the creative arts?
He wasn’t the world’s best when he first started out in tennis, and was an amateur early in his life. For this reason, we can’t excuse not setting big goals.
You, myself, everybody can set their sights on anything they want, and can achieve anything they want if the right level of hard work, intelligence, knowledge and sometimes luck is combined together.
You may be sitting there thinking “Ok, I got you, but how do I make this happen?”
Well, it’s actually easier than you think, and here’s how!
Reach for the creative stars, literally!
When we set our goals, we need to make sure they seem impossible to reach.
They need to make you laugh with how crazy and far-fetched they appear.
For example, as a wannabe illustrator, one of your goals may be to have your own live television show that is broadcast around the world showcasing your painting skills, to millions of people, like the great Bob Ross. You might take this further and want to own a television company dedicated to your talent, which is bigger than BBC, NBC and ITV combined.
This might sound ridiculous, but doesn’t it give you a sense of something to work towards, that you can aim for? If you set yourself accountable, and aim for these goals, you will do anything in your power to reach them.
We need to aim as big as possible (the scarier, bigger and more ambitious the better), to make you strive for better things within your creative career, and make sure we work to our maximum potential to reach these heights.
I recently discovered this as it perfectly sums up why you should be absolutely dedicated to reach the creative heights that I know you can reach.
Your goal might be to be a full time freelancing graphic designer, which might not sound big and ambitious to you, but to some people this is a big deal. Whatever goal you think is ambitious and totally crazy, is great!
I’ve published a great blog post dedicated to setting goals which you will find helpful in your quest to level up your creative career.
Make Yourself Accountable
One way you can reach your creative career goals is to make yourself accountable.
By keeping your goals to ourselves makes you willing to fail and does not help you succeed.
Tell your family, your friends, your even your dog about your wild goals, and tell them that you want to become the best illustrator, graphic designer or fine artist of the world!
When Victoria Beckham was growing up, she wanted to be bigger than Persil Automatic, and she succeeded, so why not you?
Sure, other people may think this is ridiculous, but if you tell them your reasons, and why you’re doing it, they can become as motivated as you are to reach your dreams.
The great thing unbelievable goals is that it’s positive. You set this goal to keep yourself motivated, driven and focused on the bigger goal, and by telling other people about the plan can make them feel motivated and driven too – which is exactly what you want.
Tell everyone and anyone so you can to keep yourself accountable.
What Goals Should You Think Of? (Creative Career Wise)
Like I was stating previously, the bigger and grander, the better!
But how does this apply creative wise?
Let’s look at some examples.
If you’re a graphic designer, you might want to secure a full time position as an Art Director, however you can take this a bit further by wanting to own a graphic design company, and overseeing it all. Or as a graphic designer, you might want to become the world’s most famous graphic designer as your creative career.
If you’re an illustrator, one of your goals might be to become a freelance illustrator, that is commissioned by the biggest brands and companies. You can take this one step further by wanting to see your work on massive billboards, in galleries, or seeing your artwork on television.
You can see that I have added to these goals and made them even more inspirational. No goal is too big and by making it bigger, means that you strive for it even more. The more you invest and commit to these goals, the more focused and determined you will become.
What If I Become Unmotivated / Can’t Reach These Goals?
The most important aspect of this is to be positive.
If you are positive in your approach, then nothing can put you down.
Positive thinking doesn’t destroy dreams, it keeps them alive and turns them into reality. If you see yourself failing or not quite living up to these goals, this is ok! Errors and mistakes is all part of the journey, and shouldn’t put you off. No journey is straight forward, so keep at it!
You might feel it isn’t for you and it’s not working, but keep positive and always think about your reason why. Why are you doing this? Why are you working towards your goals?
Keeping this in mind will keep you focused and determined to reach your goals, however ambitious, because you can and you will get there!
What’s Your Ambitious and Crazy Goal?
Ambitious goals are only achievable if you put the hard work in, as it’s not going to magically appear in front of you. They are ambitious for a reason, and it tests you to make sure it happens.
Work hard on creating your illustration portfolio, your networking, your skills, and you can reach your goals.
I would love to know what your crazy goal is that you have set yourself to maximise your creative career! Simply pop me a comment below, and I will be sure to comment back with what mine is too!
If you’re after more tips and tricks to help you with your creative career or just need a bit more motivation to get things done, check out my other blog post on how to think of creative ideas!
Many thanks for listening and visiting my news page today. You can follow what I’m up to on my Twitter, Facebook or Google + pages, I’ll really appreciate it if you do, and don’t be afraid to say hi to me! Many thanks again, and have a great day!
1st July 2017
