Perhaps the worst failing common to creative people – and the one that leads to many of the others – is dishonesty.  Not being honest with yourself.

Face yourself. Recognize who you are. Understand who you want to be and why. That is the first, most vital step toward setting goals, and setting goals is the first, most vital step toward success.

Be honest about what you want – even if it sounds silly or stupid or impossible, even if it is not what anybody else in the world would want. Say it out loud. Let them laugh at you if they are going to. That can’t hurt you – and being afraid to admit your dream can. You have to be wiling to say out loud what you want before you are ever going to get it.

Be honest about wanting, needing, dreaming about your success. Stick your neck out. Don’t waste time being cool, pretending that you don’t want or need anything. That is the surest way to failure – and failure is not cool by any standard.

Admit your mistakes. It is the only way you’ll learn from them. There is nothing wrong with making a mistake – everybody fails sometimes. Yes you’re unique, you’re special, but you’re still human. That is not a bad thing. It is a bad thing to gloss over your mistakes, to pretend they don’t exist, to dodge responsibility.

Accept your weaknesses.  Nobody’s good at everything.  Be willing to admit your failings and then honestly decide whether it is worth spending the time to overcome them or the money to work around them.

You can’t make good choices without all the facts, and you can’t get all the facts unless you’re willing to look at the whole p;icture. You can’t see your options unless you can loop past your ego. An ego is a good thing – a healthy ego gives you confidence in your vision. But a healthy ego is not afraid to look on the dark side and deal with it.

Nobody sees themselves absolutely clearly all the time. That is where friends, family, and support groups come in. Cultivate real friends, ask for honesty from them, and reward them for offering it. Your feelings might be hurt now and then, but in the long run you’ll benefit.

I’m going to be your friend now and tell you a few hard truths about creative careers.

It’s hard work. There are no shortcuts, no quick fixes. Most of the overnight successes you hear about spent years in the trenches, learning their craft, waiting for the moment. Most financial successes spend seventy hours or more every week, week in and week out, year in and year out, to achieve their goals.

It takes dedication to succeed. Often not just yours, but the dedication of your family. It takes loving what you do so much you can’t not do it. It takes working toward your goal, even when that means you have to do hard stuff.

You need that left brain. Get friendly with it. Use it. Take advantage of all those qualities you have that maybe aren’t so interesting. You may find out you have an affinity for numbers (many creatives are remarkably good at math, it they let themselves be). You may surprise yourself in other ways. Explore.

Your success may not show up in money, or fame or any measure of our society respects. Success is when you’re happy doing what you’re doing. It is personal fulfillment. It is being responsible for yourself. Past that, it can be whatever you make of it.

It takes great strength of character to succeed. It takes even more strength to handle material success. Don’t neglect your personal growth, don’t let personal issues slide. They will come back and bite you in the butt. Take care of yourself and those you lose.