The Keys to Long-Term Success as an Artist

Even a successful career isn’t always champagne and roses. But the lessons one learns on the downslope can often be just as important, if not more so, than the rewards gained at the top.

The other day I was speaking to a young photographer who was just beginning his career. He asked me what the main lesson was that I had learned over my decades as a professional filmmaker and photographer. I don’t know if it was just the mood I was in or if it was down to the youthful optimism in his eyes, but the thought that immediately came to mind wasn’t some photographic technique or specific tool to buy. It wasn’t a question of a specific marketing strategy or branding technique. To be clear, all those things matter, and, were it a different day, I might have chosen to lead with that. But the one main lesson rattling around in my head that day, when considering the long-term lesson that I’ve taken away, is that we don’t live life in a straight line.

Success is not linear. Over the years, I’ve reached heights that I never thought possible when I first entered the arena 30 years ago. But I’ve also found myself brought lower than I would have ever imagined. Every time I think I’ve got things “figured out,” the world shifts beneath my feet. Whether that be a major world shift like the pandemic, a market shift, the rise of AI, or an internal shift like waking up to find that your artistic passion is no longer bringing you the same level of joy. Life changes. The meaning of success changes. And there’s no way to prepare for the things you can’t prepare for.

So the most valuable lesson I could share with the young photographer was to stay open. Stay flexible. Yet, stay determined. Keep your eye on the ball even as the prevailing winds cause it to shift on its way over the plate. Know where you ultimately want to go. But never forget that your ultimate destination may—in fact, it most likely will—change over the course of time.

If I were trying to offer advice to someone starting on how to get to where I got to, or hopefully how to get well beyond where I’ve gotten and achieve a higher level of success, I would reference not only my wins but also my losses. I’d want them to not only take heed of the few things I’ve done right but also be cognizant of the multitude of things I’ve done wrong so as not to repeat my mistakes.

I’ve been reluctant to change. Being somewhat stubborn is a must to being any type of artist worth your salt. You need to become a person with an opinion. You need to be willing to stand by and defend your artistic vision in the face of an inevitable horde of detractors. As an artist, you are, by definition, trying to create something that has never existed before. You are trying to do something different. So the world is not always going to be able to comprehend it until it sees the final result. So being stubborn is as downright necessary as learning the exposure triangle if you hope to succeed.

At the same time, you need to carry with you an openness to adjust. This may take the form of being willing to listen to your collaborators on a project if one of them suggests a better idea. It may take the form of needing to pivot your business focus if the market has proven itself uninterested in the product you wish to sell. Or it could mean learning to accept changes that occur within yourself. Knowing how to discern between when you’re just disappointed about being in a dry spell and when you need to make a major shift in your focus to rekindle your creative flame. All of those change scenarios can be difficult to navigate. But the more you can build a level of fluidity into your approach, the nimbler you can be in the face of inevitable change.

I’ve also made the mistake of disbelief. There’s a simple fact of life: no one is going to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself. I know that may sound trite, but it is nonetheless true. If you are waiting around for others to validate your talent, you are setting yourself up for a long road of pain. That’s not to say that you will never receive plaudits. Rather, I’m saying that you need to find a way to generate self-confidence from within as opposed to depending on others to sustain your belief.

This can be hard, especially when you’re just starting out. I mean, if you’ve never had any successes, why would you believe yourself to be a success? It’s just a logical conclusion. But the truth is, if someone has done it, there’s no reason you can’t do it. It may be harder for you. Perhaps you’ll need to get in more practice. Perhaps it will take longer. But if you really want to do something, you can do it.

Not everybody is going to believe that. You may not currently believe it. Even if you do believe it, those around you, even those who claim to love you, may not believe it. Regardless of your level of talent, it’s going to be a long road ahead filled with as many failures as successes. The only way you make it through that minefield is to believe in yourself. Your supporters will come and go. You’ll have wins, you’ll have losses. But if you want to play the long game, you need to be able to wake up each morning knowing that you can succeed. Not because someone told you that you can, but because you, deep in your heart, know that you can.

Getting to this point can be easier said than done. And it should be pointed out that believing in yourself doesn’t mean arrogance. It doesn’t mean you are superior to those around you. But it does mean that they are not superior to you. Learn to back yourself and you’ll never need external validation to keep you going. Believe in yourself because you are worth believing in.

Over three decades, the lessons I’ve learned, both from my own journey and from the journeys of the multitude of talented colleagues I’ve been honored to work with and/or call my friends, have been too many to count. As I mentioned earlier, if you ask me the same question on a different day, I may have come up with an entirely different answer. But tools and techniques are transient. They come and go over time. Business approaches are eternally important, but the specifics will vary depending on the market conditions. The one thing that doesn’t change is that the world keeps on spinning. The ground is constantly moving beneath our feet. It takes enduring self-belief and an ability to constantly be adjusting to different pitches if we have any hopes of hitting it out of the park.