There are plenty of quotes which praise the concept of struggle.
“We grow because we struggle, we learn and overcome.“
R. C. Allen
So why are so many people seeking some kind of shortcut to success? I see it all the time in the art world. Artists seeking some kind of shortcut to the top. They want that one easy thing they can do to start selling their artwork. Ironically they ask it of people who have struggled for years to get to where they are – what is your secret to success? What is the one thing I can do to start selling my work?
So people give advice and the would-be artist is never heard from again. They either determine that the advice is too hard to follow or they go off to find someone else to ask and perhaps find some super-secret and yet super-easy “golden ticket” to the front of the line.
“The struggle alone pleases us, not the victory. “
Blase Pascal
I’ve seen it called “The Dumbo Effect”. As you might recall, Dumbo the baby elephant thought he could fly because he was given a magic feather. When the feather is lost, he believes he can no longer fly.
The same thing happens when you reach the top without a struggle. You have nothing to fall back on. You haven’t learned along the way. You don’t know what works and what doesn’t. You haven’t experienced failure. You haven’t learned by trial and error.
So when that “magic feather” doesn’t work, you don’t know what to do other than look for another “magic feather”.
Lately, I’ve been restoring a non-working electric mechanical pinball machine from the 1970s. This thing has no electric boards.
It has thousands of parts including hundreds of switches, dozens of relays, sixteen score reels each with its own sets of solenoids and switches. Basically thousands of places for something to go wrong and not work.
I don’t know much about fixing these old pinball machines but I do know that with determination I should be able to get it working eventually.
I know there is a lot of information online and I know that I can figure it out if I put in the time to learn about all the parts, how they are supposed to work and how to check for things like dirty contacts and broken wires.
I know I need to put in a lot of hours check, inspecting, testing, reading and examining. Every inch of this machine will be looked over. Every switch tested, every wire followed, every relay adjusted – until I have a good understanding of the basic operation.
Because if I do get this thing working at some point down the road, I’ll need to be able to fix any issues that come along.
“The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.“
Pierre de Coubertin
I’ve seen plenty of people who have given up on these old pinball machines. They have a working machine at some point in their basement, it plays for years and then something goes wrong and boom it’s listed on Craigslist.
They have no clue what’s wrong. Even if it is an easy fix like a dirty switch or a blown fuse, they have no concept of how to go about troubleshooting the machine because they’ve never invested the time in understanding the machine.
Or they post for help on a pinball forum. Usually with something like “I haven’t had time to look under the glass but my XYZ is not working.” Then the old-timers spend time giving advice on how to troubleshoot the machine and the original poster never comes back. They are looking for some simple fix that doesn’t exist.
The same thing happens in an art business in which the artist hasn’t invested the time to learn the market, how to build up a following, how to communicate to buyers or even to understand their potential customers.
They just want some secret and easy way to the top. So they get a little advice, perhaps sell a few things and then nothing. Then they are back again asking “Now what? I did what you told me. Now what.” These people will always be back looking for the next tip or instruction because they don’t bother to invest their own time into understanding and struggling through the process of becoming a successful artist or pinball repair person.
So stop looking for the secret feather and get to work!