Look at a bookshelf

Look at a bookshelf. What percentage of authors of those books make a full-time living as writers? 10%? 5%? Maybe less? I don’t know for sure, but unless that bookshelf is filled only with New York Times Bestsellers, most of those writers make their money other ways.

Even the bestselling authors don’t just write. They teach, they speak, they consult. Almost every author you love has to make their money other ways.

Every book is a gift. Every thing is a gift; every album, every painting, every poem, every sculpture. Gifts created by people who sacrifice for their art. 

If you have it in your brain that you won’t start making your art until you have a paying audience to fund your life from here on out, then you simply might not be one of us. Because the rest of us know that every work of art is a gift, and we design our lives around that reality—to be able to give more gifts more often.