Have you ever rated your motivation as a nine or 10, only to abandon your projects at the first sign of difficulty? Do you wonder why certain opportunities never materialize despite your talent, or why success seems to come more easily to others?
Perhaps it's time to honestly assess whether you're truly willing to do what it takes—not just some things, but everything required—to achieve the creative success you claim to want.
In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares both tough love and genuine encouragement about the journey of becoming the person capable of creating the artistic life you desire. Drawing from personal experiences of financial hardship, setbacks, and eventual breakthroughs, he explores the gap between perceived motivation and demonstrated action.
Whether you're struggling with making excuses, taking full responsibility for your career, or developing true go-getter persistence, this episode offers a compassionate yet uncompromising invitation to honestly evaluate where you stand on your creative journey.
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Highlights:
00:17 – David’s fiery side
00:44 – How motivated are you?
05:47 – Have you read The Magic of Thinking Big?
10:38 – Have you read The Go-Getter?
14:56 – Summary
Summary:
In this powerful and challenging episode, David invites artists to honestly assess their level of motivation and commitment to success. Through direct questions, personal reflections, and practical examples, he explores the gap between what we say we want and what we're truly willing to do to achieve it, offering both tough love and genuine encouragement for the creative journey.
Key Themes & Takeaways
The crucial distinction between perceived motivation and actual willingness to take necessary actions
How success typically requires more effort and time than most people initially anticipate
The importance of taking complete responsibility for both successes and failures
The progressive nature of personal growth and how it enables creative achievement
The reality check of what being a true "go-getter" involves in practical scenarios
The Motivation Assessment
David begins with a direct challenge to listeners about their true level of commitment:
The honest self-evaluation of motivation on a scale from 0-10
The crucial question of what you're genuinely willing to do to achieve your goals
The gap between self-perception and demonstrated action
The relationship between motivation level and ability to persist through inevitable obstacles
"Are you willing to do nothing of what it takes to get to where you want to go? Are you willing to do some things that might be required to get you to where you want to go? Are you willing to do most things required to get you to where you want to go? Are you willing to do everything that's required for you to get to where you want to go?"
This straight-talking approach cuts through the comfortable illusions many artists maintain about their dedication level, asking them to examine their actions rather than their intentions.
The Success Timeline Reality
Drawing from personal experience, David addresses the often-unexpected nature of the creative journey:
The surprising length of time required to achieve meaningful goals
The inevitable obstacles and setbacks that test commitment
Personal reflections on his own journey through hardship to current success
How perseverance through difficult moments eventually leads to desired outcomes
"Understanding that very typically achieving success on your terms, whatever that may look like, takes way more effort than you think it will and takes way more time than you ever think it will.