Success is not for the faint-hearted, losers, quitters, and the lazy. Anything worthy doing and achieving requires great input, patience, hard work, and practice over and over again.

You don’t get it right every time, no one does. Sometimes you will succeed and other times you will fail. There are win seasons and setback moments. In short, it’s a rise and fall wavy journey.

Success happens differently for different people. Some achieve it before others but that doesn’t mean you won’t have your breakthrough. Work on your dream for as long as it takes and when in doubt, look around you at some of the world’s most famous successful people and their stories. You will find that many of them had it worse and longer than you and that it was their determination and faith in their dreams that gave them that breakthrough. Winners win and you’re one!

You may have heard it said that it’s all about passion. Truth is, the aspect of passion may seem overrated but if you’re not passionate about something then it’s easy to give up when inspiration fades, challenges confront you or setbacks seem unavoidable. So how then can we channel this passion into our different forms of art and achieve excellence?

Well, make it a point, to always do whatever you do as if your life depends on it, because (actually) it does and while you’re at it, make sure to enjoy yourself.

When you practice, don’t start until you’re determined to put your best foot forward (artistically speaking) and don’t stop until you’re sure you’ve given it your very best today than you did yesterday. Practice as if you have already made it, as if you’re at the concert of your dreams, in front of the world’s best artists showcasing your legendary artwork in your new top-notch gallery, or with the world’s best poets reciting from your latest published world best-selling anthology.

Ever woken up and you knew you had a song to rehearse, that unfinished sketch in the corner to complete, a recital to attend, an audition you’ve been praying for but feel lazy to sign up for now that it’s knocking on your door? Well, it happens to everyone. We each have our moments of high energy and low energy but regardless, we have set goals and they need to be achieved.

Come to think of it–it’s not about how you feel, it’s about self-discipline.

You need to teach yourself, your mind, your heart and your body to get busy at whatever you committed yourself to do whether you feel like it or not. Usually once you start, the momentum builds slowly and before you know it, you feel so powered up. Still, it should come down to self-discipline.

You have a dream that’s worth achieving, don’t shortchange your future nor sabotage your career by giving into laziness, procrastination, and constantly making excuses. Get it done anyway!

It’s not just about talent, passion, and proving this and that to who-cares. Artistry has and continues to influence culture and societies around the world. Artists and celebrities are in turn looked at as role models with fans and children tirelessly imitating their lifestyles and hoping to somehow be like them.

Such privilege, fame and influence calls for a greater amount of responsibility towards artists themselves in how they live their lives and the choices they make as well as what they invest back into their communities, those places where their talents were born and where their fans live.

An artist who can think beyond self to the service of others and benefit of their community is an artist worthy of admiration and respect.