· By Andre Woolery
Vincent van Gogh, Creating Through Self Doubt
Van Gogh's Decade of Rejection
After Vincent van Gogh began painting seriously at age 27, the art world saw no value in his work. Art dealers rejected his submissions, and the public criticized his paintings. But van Gogh kept creating anyway. For ten years.
The joy came from authentic expression. The painting that energized him had nothing to do with sales. Van Gogh wasn't waiting during those struggling years. He painted over 2,000 works and sold only one painting during his lifetime, yet never compromised for market acceptance. His letters to his brother Theo reveal the internal battle: "I am terribly inadequate. It is always my great fear that my art will appear so awkward and unfinished that people will take me for a madman."
Those letters also showed his unwavering commitment to authentic work: "I am always doing what I can't do yet, in order to learn how to do it, and this is how I think I'm going to be a great artist someday." He understood that doubt is simply the gap between your current abilities and your aspirations.
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Steal This Ritual
Creative permission is self-granted:
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Begin without permission or readiness
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Create imperfectly and let it push you
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Change directions mid-project if needed
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Define success your own way
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To explore the full approach behind this story, pull card #10 in the Creative Mastermind Deck
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