Great topic! Here's a powerful tip, or reframe for getting through the "slog" (for those who experience it) from Flow Science - Marshall, you mentioned Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the Godfather of Flow. We know there are 4 phases in the flow cycle, always in the same order, always present for every flow experience: Struggle, Release, Flow, and Recovery. There is no Flow without Struggle. Period. Many (most?) people hit struggle and mistakenly think they are doing something wrong. Seen through this lens, the "enemies of mastery" can be seen differently, hopefully with more empathy for both ourselves and others. If you're a Flow Junkie like me, this is a game changer! Stan, I love your unrelenting growth mindset! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Re: energy - our energy and attention and time are our most valuable resources - so that's why we need to protect our dopamine, work in the sweet spot of our challenge-skills balance, protect the joy, and practice all of the positive psychology basics (sleep, nutrition, hydration, exercise, community). Cheers!

what if i just love art so much that i want to do it all my life without having to consistently think about my funds, rent money or groceries depending on this month freelancing or a lady portrait. I've been student for two years now, my progress has been so far good in academics related to fine arts, i do suck at finding clients in freelancing but finding a part time low- wage job was way easier than learning photoshop for 2 years and learning graphic design and finding a single client in this profession. I am learning yet still i dont have a clear aim yet, I want a part time job anywhere from which i can earn enough to pay my groceries and rent, and i want to just devote rest of time making arts, reading art books, watching videos about art, i do love to make crazy artworks. So thanks to one side i am seeing improvements that is in drawing and painting, ive been imporving in illustrations too sideways and same with graphic design, thanks to you guies. I am not seeing any growth in earnings from art sector in my life yet. This will be third year from coming september since i started bachelors and i have officially completed half of study. I think i should aim to find ways to earn money through arts. (by the way i am security officer and really good at detective stuff so i am thinking about police work for few years to gain experience but i want to do arts all my life)

The attitude of focusing on the outcome will cause frustration is absolutely true! It took me a long time to realize that, AND I still get caught in that trap.

How do we find a mentor?

"This hole was made for me!" This podcast was fantastic. Thank you for talking about a subject that I hold close. Like Marshall, I have fallen into the obsessive pit for 15 years. It has stunted my growth immensely. Thankfully, it's been about two years now that I have started to share work publicly, fail a lot, and start with the fundamentals again. It's amazing how humbling lessons and projects can be sometimes. I have never been more afraid to fail, but I am also in a great place where I am constantly finding where to grow. I love art and have always wanted to make work that makes others smile. Doing the Proko premium lessons and having a community has been amazing. I am proud that I have now caught up in drawing basics and have started my journey into the perspective course. I have learned more with a community in the last year than I did at college for six years. Thank you again for these great additions like Draftsmen!