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When Do You Get to Feel Successful as an Artist?
How successful do you have to become before you are no longer constantly chasing the next opportunity?
I have been thinking about this because I realized there is an important distinction in my own creative life.
I have never really struggled to believe I am an artist.
I know I am one.
What I have struggled with is the question of whether I am successful enough as one.
Enough credits.
Enough recognition.
Enough audience.
Enough opportunities coming toward me that I am no longer constantly sending pitches, making introductions, submitting, creating, posting, and knocking on another door.
At some point, I think many artists quietly imagine the equation will change.
The Achievement You Thought Would Change Everything
When I lived in London, I produced I Do! I Do! at Riverside Studios.
It was a full professional production: cast, orchestra, set, theatre — all of it.
I remember looking at what I had achieved and thinking that I had reached a certain level.
I could stop for a while.
I could have children.
There was an assumption underneath that thought that the career would somehow be different on the other side of such a significant milestone.
I had created my own opportunity. I had put myself out there. I had done what artists are constantly encouraged to do.
Yet there was no magical career threshold waiting on the other side.
The goalpost simply moved.
That pattern is easy to recognize.
You get the qualification. Now you want the professional credit.
You get the credit. Now you need the next role.
You publish the book. Now you want people to buy it.
You have an exhibition. Now you need the work to sell.
You grow an audience. Suddenly the audience does not feel large anymore.
Something you once dreamed about becomes normal surprisingly quickly.
Success Is Not a Permanent State
As I write this, I am preparing to give a TEDx talk after an enormous book-launch year.
Both are meaningful.
And yet I can still hear the thought:
Maybe after this I will finally be able to slow down.
Perhaps more opportunities will begin arriving without quite so much chasing.
Perhaps.
But artist life does not offer guarantees like that.
You can do something significant and still wake up the next morning with a career to continue building.
That does not make the achievement less meaningful.
It means success is not a permanent state you enter and remain inside forever.
There is no official artistic finish line where someone hands you a certificate saying you have done enough and no further evidence will ever be required.
But Artists Still Need to Earn Money
This conversation can become unrealistic very quickly if we pretend artists should simply stop caring about outcomes.
Many cannot.
A visual artist may need to make the next sale.
A musician needs bookings.
An actor needs another job.
A writer may need another contract.
A filmmaker needs funding.
A creative business owner needs clients.
Marketing, pitching, and selling your work do not automatically mean that you are obsessed with external validation.
Sometimes that is simply how your livelihood works.
The problem is not wanting the sale.
The problem begins when the sale is also required to answer a much deeper question:
Am I finally successful enough now?
Those are two different needs.
One is financial and professional.
The other is asking an outcome to settle your identity.
What Are You Asking the Next Achievement to Give You?
This is the question I am using myself:
What am I asking the next achievement to give me that I am not allowing myself to have now?
Rest?
Pride?
Legitimacy?
Financial security?
Permission to feel successful?
A sense that I have finally done enough?
Some answers require practical action.
If you need more income, that matters.
If your art business is struggling, you may genuinely need to change your marketing, find buyers, build your audience, or create another source of income.
But not every ache can be solved by the next achievement.
Sometimes we have simply stopped counting what has already happened.
Artists are remarkably good at turning yesterday’s dream into today’s minimum expectation.
The opportunity arrives.
We celebrate briefly.
Then we normalize it.
And start looking toward the next thing.
Look Back Before You Move the Goalpost Again
Think about something in your creative life right now that an earlier version of you badly wanted.
A studio.
A role.
A client.
A finished manuscript.
A professional qualification.
A gallery.
A body of work.
A published book.
A paying audience.
A community around your work.
A creative business.
A performance you once imagined from a long way away.
Does it still count?
Of course it does.
You are allowed to continue wanting more without erasing what has already happened.
You can keep pitching.
You can keep building.
You can keep selling.
You can keep pursuing the next level.
But perhaps the next achievement does not need to be responsible for finally making the whole creative life feel worthwhile.
Before you rush toward the next target, ask:
What have I already achieved that an earlier version of me would be amazed to see — and have I actually allowed myself to count it?
You can want more.
And you can let what has already happened matter too.
Go Deeper with Audacious Artistry
If this spoke to something in you, my book Audacious Artistry: Reclaim Your Creative Identity and Thrive in a Saturated World goes deeper.
You can also download the free 10-week group study guide and walk through the book on your own, with a friend or with a group of artists.
Find the book and free guide at: https://larabiancapilcher.com/book
It’s written for artists and creatives who still feel called to create but are tired of proving, comparing, waiting for permission, or wondering if their work still matters.
Read the book + get the free guide:
https://larabiancapilcher.com/book
This article is adapted from the Healthy Wealthy Wise Artist Podcast episode:
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“When Do You Get to Feel Successful as an Artist?“ on:
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With you as you keep creating,
— Lara Bianca Pilcher
Connect with Lara
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