Hi my sweet friends,

I still remember the first first piece of art I sold... it was a few years ago before I had my business fully in place like I have now. I was just starting off, but I was so filled with excitement because it was starting to become clearer; this dream of creating a life as an artist was becoming bolder, brighter, and something I knew would change my life

Anyway, I lovingly packaged up the artwork on a Saturday morning, and was leaving for the post office. One of my family members then clocked I had a package. They asked what it was, and when I told them, and they said:

"It's not like you made a profit." 

(No kind words. No congratulations. Not even a smile)

They waited for a reaction, then continued with "because you've spent so much on art materials until now, that you've actually lost money"

"Sure," I said. They didn't know I had been keeping a very in-depth excel sheet of my expenses to back it up. I hadn't made a profit, but I was happy to have sold a piece of artwork and proved to myself that this dream could, in fact, come true. This sale represented so much more than just the potential for profit 

They blinked back, without a response

In my experience, the dumbfound silence often follows when you take away peoples' power to hurt you. When you lean into the criticism you get in a way that makes it look like you agree with the other person. But it takes time to reach this point where you can steel yourself and not actually feel hurt by the words they say

Still to this day, I have the post office receipt for that first sale. A physical token of a beautiful memory; that I made my first sale and kept my dream safe and sound in my heart. It's easy to get wrapped up in other peoples' definitions and expectations. It's easy to fixate on the profits you don't yet have, rather than the skills or drive that you do now have. It's harder to keep your dream alive so that it flourishes... but isn't it so worth it?


Love,
Affie