6 Things To Do When You Just Wanna Give Up The Dream
4 Myths About Starting/Running a Creative Business & How to Avoid Them
June 11, 2018
Starting or running any kind of creative business is tough. Days will come when you just wanna flip your laptop, throw both arms in the air and say “You know what? I’m done, I give up!”
This post (and blog in general) may focus more on creative arts but it pretty much applies to anyone out there who is trying to chase a dream.
So today I want to talk about “6 Things to do when you just wanna give up the dream.”
Ever since I quit my full-time job to focus on running my own business, YouNeek Studios, a transmedia company with a focus on superhero and fantasy stories inspired by African history, culture and mythology, I’ve had some really great things happen.
But, to be honest, I’ve also experienced some incredibly rough times. Times when I’ve looked at my bank account and thought “Da heck kinda decision did I make trying to chase this dream?”
Leaving a 9-5 to fend for your self is no joke. About a year after I made the transition, I was so sick that I could barely get out of bed. The only time I managed to leave the house was to go see Captain America: Civil War. Nothing was gonna keep me from that ?
Anyways, while in bed for several hours at a time, I was forced to think back at some of those rough patches and I started jutting down how I was able to push through. Personally, I need reflect on this list more…
Here are 6 Things to do when you just wanna give up the dream.
1. Remember why you started
No matter what your goals are you have to know “why” you are doing what you are doing. It is so important.
If you’re in it just for the money, for example, your chances of success will be very slim. What is it about what you are doing that pushes you to do it. I’ll give you an example.
For me, I personally started YouNeek Studios for 3 main reasons:
- To highlight Africa, African content and African talent when it comes to superheroes, comics and animation
- To inspire people to chase their dreams while I’m living mine
- For people all over the world to experience all the crazy ideas I have in my head as great stories.
These are the things push me every day. Even the days I don’t feel like doing a damn thing.
The days when every blogger/journalist rejects my pitch.
The times when it feels like I can’t even sell one copy of my book.
The days when distributors/TV networks tell me my product isn’t good enough to appear on TV.
When people who promise to help break those promises.
When my book and characters get negatively (and sometimes unfairly) criticized.
And the list goes on and on.
Because I know exactly why I’m doing what I’m doing and I have a passion for it, I keep pressing on!
2. Look back
All it takes is looking back to see how far ahead you truly are. Sometimes, I see people doing all these great things on social media and then I look at myself and I’m like “man I’m nowhere near that… I suck.”
Thing is, you don’t know the amount of time that person has put into that thing. Again all it takes is looking back at your own previous work, drafts, projects, achievements etc.
Try it, if you’ve been running any type of creative business consistently for a while, look back at when you first started.
Look at old drawings, old sketches, old footage, old proposals, videos, animations, graphics etc. Odds are you will be thankful for the progress you’ve made.
And if you haven’t made any progress, really, who’s fault is that?
3. Look at the greats
JK Rowling (creator of Harry Potter) was divorced, broke and depressed but somehow managed to push through and create one of the most popular books ever. Stephen King’s first novel Carrie was rejected 30 times before it was published or my personal favorite, Walt Disney was fired by his editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” (Check this link out for more examples).
For me, one of the best success stories is Elon Musk (co-founder of Paypal). He once said: “My proceeds from the PayPal acquisition were $180 million. I put $100 million in SpaceX, $70m in Tesla, and $10m in Solar City. I had to borrow money for rent.”
Borrow money for rent? Bruh, I’m not gonna lie, personally, I would have stashed away at least $20 million. Jeez, talk about betting on yourself. I guess that’s why he’s now worth $13 billion and I’m not (yet).
What am I trying to say here? Almost everyone that has ever done something great has had to go through terribly painful periods. In order to forge steel, it must first go through fire. If you’re feeling the pain right now, you are well on your way to success. Keep pushing!
4. Help someone else
This I need to do more of. It’s amazing the amount of positive energy that comes with helping others achieve their dreams/goals.
Some of my most memorable moments on this crazy roller coaster of a journey called “running a creative business” are when people call, email, text, Facebook or tweet at me saying things like “Your book has inspired me to start my own comic” or “Just seeing you do what you do gives me the courage to put myself out there.”
It goes to another level when I actually actively help. Either when someone reaches out to me for advice or assistance and I’m able to solve a problem or when I actively go out of my way to offer help.
I’m nowhere near doing this as often as I should and I have had my share of not getting back to people on time because of how crazy busy things can get, but you will be surprised how much your spirit can be lifted when you just reach out and help someone. After all, isn’t that what life really is about? Helping one another. Okay, I’m off my soapbox now. Try it out and thank me later.
5. Take a break
This is pretty self-explanatory. Sometimes all you need is time away from that project, that book, that business, that piece of art etc. Take it from me, your body will always win.
When I first launched YouNeek Studios, I tried to run myself into the ground working minimum 10-14 hours a day 7 days a week for months in a row. Soon after, my body reminded me who was boss.
I become so sick I couldn’t get out of bed for almost a week. So if you’re feeling stuck, tired, overwhelmed, frustrated, just take a break. It could be a day, a week or a month, only you can know how long you need (or how long you can afford).
Go out, hang out with friends and family, travel, see the world. If you are a creative person like me, these things actually help. My best ideas came to me when I was not actively thinking about anything close to what I do on a daily basis.
6. Do it anyway
This is the toughest and probably the most important of them all. Sometimes everything above won’t work. No matter what, nothing makes sense. But you do it anyway.
This is what separate’s being good from being great. When you have every reason to quit, you somehow manage to push through. It’s tough, I won’t lie and I’m still learning how to diligently do this when my whole world feels like it’s crumbling. But if you can find some way to push through, greatness awaits!
I always say that what makes a great person is not necessarily what they have, but what they had to endure to get it.
I hope this helps someone out there today. Have any other tips? Drop them in the comments below, would love to hear from you!
1 Comment
I am at the very beginning stages of pursuing my dream (music composer). However I find that watching other creative people definitely inspires me when I am feeling uninspired. It doesn’t even have to be the same art form. I see the creativity in everything. For example when I was a child I use to watch this show called “American Chopper” I think it came on a channel called “TLC” (The Learning Channel). I was not a fan of motorcycles, but it was amazing to see one built from the ground up, from concept (sketch) to actually being built. Watching other creative people in their element definitely keeps me going.