Patti Johnson

But first, I want to share all the solutions that you can use immediately.

So just look forward to that other stuff at the end of the podcast.

Now, to get to the solutions, I want to articulate the problem as clearly as I can.

So first, a lot of artists, particularly in mid-career, get stuck.

And there are a lot of explanations for this.

You don't have the connections you need.

You don't make the work that matches the moment.

You don't live in a major city or have the right MFA or any number of the zillion things that you have no control over.

that impact your career.

These are never the reasons that artists stay stuck.

I mean, yes, they definitely impact your career, but the things that you can actually control or are really what will move the needle one way or another.

So there's really no point in focusing on the rest.

So why aren't your efforts working?

In my experience, it's the result of three things.

The first one is not identifying a value set that guides your art.

The second one is not understanding that this value set will impact who your audience is or what they need.

And finally, not setting goals that align with who your audience is or what they need.

So without identifying

the answers to these problems, your efforts in all other areas will be watered down or ineffective.

In short, you're going to get stuck, and sometimes this happens to us for years.