Overheard a stranger say "I gave up painting because nobody would buy it" and it hit me hard

I was at a coffee shop in Denver last Tuesday and this woman next to me said she used to paint landscapes but stopped because she never sold a single one at local craft fairs. She spent like 4 years doing it too, every weekend. It got me thinking about how many people quit their dreams because they tied them to making money or getting approval. I used to write short stories for fun in college but stopped after I got rejected from three small magazines. That rejection stung way more than it should have because I was writing for the wrong reasons. Now I look back and realize I gave up something I actually loved just because nobody clapped loud enough. Does anyone else have a hobby they abandoned because they cared too much about what other people thought?

3 comments

3 Comments

parkerbrown1mo ago

Nah, selling your work is a totally valid reason to quit!

miller.rowan1mo ago

Read something recently about how most successful creative people actually treat it like a business from the start. They don't wait around hoping to get discovered. They figure out what sells and make more of that. Makes sense to me.

williams.sage1mo ago

Damn, @parkerbrown you hit the nail on the head there... People always treat selling out like it's a dirty word but it's really just the end goal of making something people actually want to buy. If you're good enough at something that someone's willing to pay you for it then why wouldn't you run with that... That's how you make a living doing what you love instead of just a hobby that bleeds money on the side. The whole idea that you gotta stay a starving artist forever is just nonsense people tell themselves to feel better about not getting paid.