Art Publisher B. Eric Rhoads teaches visual artists how to be business people. In his Art Marketing Boot Camp he walks artists through how to design their life, how to build a plan, how to know what you really want to do for the rest of your life. The reason he does this is because someone did it for him, and as a result, he built a blueprint for his life. Eric Rhoads believes having a plan committed to writing, reading it frequently (daily if possible), and holding yourself accountable is the only way to grow.

I stumbled upon visual art in retirement after a left brain career as a CPA and investment banker. While I’m comfortable with marketing intangibles, I had to learn the creative right brain ways of an artist. This kind of learning demands that you quiet your ego while you allow yourself to be a beginner. Being the new kid on the block is never easy but I found a way to fit in.

We are all born with the ability to learn and create. We just have to find the means and the methods that will help us change and become what we are meant to be. I have picked writing to get me to where I need to go. I write my aspirations every morning and record whatever wells up from my creative subconscious. Progress requires discipline, courage and focus. We can’t be everything, but we can become what we were meant to be.