Wow, that is the best!
Thank you so much for sharing this Marisa. I will be thinking about her words for along time.
Do you mind if I share this video on my blog? I think the more people who listen to this the better. Karin

Oh wow- thanks so much for sharing this! I needed this reminder today :)

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

The thing that SHOUTS out at me from this video is "Expect success and you will commit to creating it" .....I re-framed her words at the end there but that is the message I heard....awesome. Thank you so much for posting this Marisa. Getting ready and packing canvas for Squam next week :):)

Thanks for posting this, I adore it. So true and so well put. I could write much in response but I'll just say this - I was always amazed and saddened through university by the professors that spent their time teaching me and at the same time spoke of the only purpose of an art degree being to prepare you to be a teacher not an artist. Those few teachers that believed in me changed my life, thank goodness there are people out there willing to talk about being an artist as a reality and not a silly dream that won't come true.

Thank you Marisa! Brilliant video to share! I get so much energy from your posts and I'm at the time in my creative life when I need it.Thanks!

This is so inspiring! Just what I needed....Thank you!! Have a beautiful weekend!

Reframing our notions of easy and hard - yes! Thanks for sharing this, I listened twice!

So what I needed...listening to it on repeat and sharing it! Thank you!

yes Karin! absolutely spread the word. It is time. More people need to hear and trust this message.

WOW and YES,YES,YES!!!!

So wonderful to hear it put like this. It definitely challenged a few messages I've heard and taken to heart, so thank you so much for posting!

That was really amazing. It's so true that we do go into our lives as artists with a feeling of defeat--it's kind of like: "Well, nothing else seems to be working, and everybody's telling me it's not possible to make a living at this, but in all desperation, I must do it, so I will." That's really not a great place to start.

I love how she compares it to being a doctor---becoming a doctor is really hard, but nobody mentions that, I think because there's a clear outcome---if you make it through the program, there's a good chance you will be able to get a well-paying job. It sounds more secure, for direct---but really, can you call 8+ years of schooling direct? And what if we gave ourselves as artists 8+ years to get explore and train? Wouldn't that be amazing!? Thanks for sharing!

Commit to thrive!!!. A wonderful and inspiring video. Thanks for sharing this with us, Marisa.

thanks for posting this Marisa. I agree on all the pieces of the creative side of the conversation but I wanted to address the side of becoming a doctor a little as well, so we have some food for thought....My husband is a cardiologist. I have been through this journey with him since the beginning. 12 years of training, working 100 hours a week, stacking up student loans, and being away from family on a daily basis. He went into this field because it is his calling-he is a caring, loving, smart, intelligent physician and his patients love him. However, he has had to make a huge sacrifice on the family front to do what he loves. He is discouraged being a physician now because so much of what he does is regulated by insurance companies and people who do not understand what it means to take care of another human life. My point is that there is not really a clear outcome in the field of medicine either. How I compare this to being creative is that we must a creative people fuel our passions and share our passions with others. My husband does this on a daily basis sometimes at 2 am when we are all sleeping. In my mind it is more about sharing this passion for something than a clear cut division between medicine and art. If you look back through the history of medicine it actually began as an art and very artistic people became doctors. It is very true today as well. My husbands partners are musicians, artists, wine makers, mountain climbers and avid sports men. In my mind they are the renaissance men and women and maybe we could look to them for how we can become more creative individuals.

Hi Sarah, I'm so glad you brought this up. It's great to hear your perspective. I was honestly wondering what inspired Krista's very passionate point of view on this in regards to the comparison of artists to doctors and then I remembered the theme of Grey's Anatomy. I know on these shows, like E.R for instance, the writers always work with actual doctors to make sure they are being as close to accurate as possible. Krista probably works with doctors everyday and certainly tries to immerse herself in their world for the purposes of this show. I can in no way shape or form speak to this except that I dated a guy in college that wanted to become a doctor and he did. I know the kind of time and focus he dedicated to his work, and it was intense.
I totally agree with your thoughts here and I think more than anything this commitment to thrive should apply to all people and their passions. I think the next step in all of this awareness, is to no longer separate any career from another. To thrive at what we do, I think we all need to have passion, the right attitude, and a complete dedication and commitment to our work.

I experienced the same thing with the few art classes I took in college. A lot of frustrated creative people who had become teachers instead of professional artists. I still refer to some of the ridiculous comments they made in class that turned out to be completely inaccurate about what makes a successful artist. Of course like you, I also had some teachers along the way who believed in me. Thank goodness for them, and my own determination to come back to and pursue what I loved most. I think this is definitely why I get so fired up and passionate about sharing this message with others. As I mentioned to you on Twitter, I would love to hear more of your thoughts. Anytime, you are always welcome to just come on over and post something :)

Thank you for sharing this. I feel so inspired to get into my studio today and, yes, thrive in my art!

Marisa, thank you, thank you for sharing this! I needed to hear it, but my husband needed to hear it even more. He was always discouraged from pursuing his art, and now, it's very difficult to put aside things that need to be done in order to focus on it...listen (and not listen) to those who say he needs to forget art and find a "real" job... If only I could free him up to work those 12 to 18 hours a day on only art! I'm praying God will give him the push he needs. He is so supportive of me and my art (creating bears and sketches), and I'm thankful.

Happy Monday to you!
~Debora

You have no idea how much I needed this at this moment..
Going to photography school, a writer, a single mom, everyone has questioned me like I am a crazy woman, following a dream. Thanks so much!

Thanks for sharing this Marisa. A really interesting point - one I shall keep telling myself. Thrive! Thrive! Thrive!

I was not expecting this to be so insightful. Thankyou for sharing.

Here's another video which complements Krista's comments, author Elizabeth Gilbert's talk on nurturing creativity - <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html">http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html</a>

Thanks so much for sharing this!