— What sets the most prolific artists apart? Are they so prolific because they’re talented? Or are they so talented because they were first so prolific?

Maybe there’s no separating the two.

Because you can’t help but see the connection.

Have you noticed how much work our most talented artists turn out?  They’re positively relentless. London-based artist Marius Els (whose work is featured here) is only one of dozens of talented and prolific AWAKE artists. The talent on display here in the blog and published in our magazine each month is staggering at this point.

And is it any mystery WHY they’re so good when they produce art at such an exhilarating clip?

Part of this comes down to just loving the process.  Feeling empty without it in your day.

But I think part of it also comes down to deciding to say NO to all sorts of stuff that might otherwise distract you and eat away at your time and focus.

Fritter away your attention on trivial things, say “yes” too often to things that don’t really matter, and you end up with no time left for what DOES matter.

I love this quotation from Iain Thomas:

“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’ And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No. This is what’s important.'” 

For the artists in our AWAKE group truly immersed in mastering the craft of photo artistry, their creative lives — their artistic lives — matter to them.  Deeply.

If that’s your ambition as well, I have one piece of advice:

Live accordingly.

Make ART part of your life every day.

While everyone else is rushing around doing whatever it is people do when they rush around … getting distracted by all those things that distract them …  YOU will be working at something meaningful and important.     

You will be living your truth.

And it is when you are living your truth that you will shine.

~ Sebastian 

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