❌ I quite traveling.

#50 or the art of changing direction

Dear little demon,

Welcome to the edition #50 of The Art Missive (already!!). We are 25,007 😈 in this newsletter and whether you've been here from the start or just arrived, thank you so much for reading ❤.

Lately, I’m fine. I spent the weekend packing, flying from Hanoi to Paris, unpacking and realizing Tsuki has put on too much weight while I was away. 

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• Read all the previous Art Missives

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• Ask your questions for the next QaAs here

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In this Missive: 

1/ Intro.

2/ My top 3 travel mishaps.

3/ Exploded.

4/ The one thing.

5/ Conclusion: be extreme.

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1/ Intro.

Last week, I was sharing with you the lessons I learned from being a traveling artist. But when I was writing this missive, I didn't know that my traveling life would come to an end in just a few days.

Welcome to edition #50 of the Art Missive, where I'll explain why returning home is going to make me a better artist.

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2/  My top 3 travel mishaps. 

You know, traveling has always been a childhood dream for me and it became true once I turned into a full-time artist. In 2019, I had already traveled as a student, through Africa and Asia and it had been such a life-changing experience that I wanted to do it again this year... But I went through nothing but problems:

• In Thailand, my Dutch host was having crazy delusional episodes at night. I left.

• In Laos, my accommodation was next to a huge construction zone: impossible to rest, draw, or make videos for you. I left.

• In Hanoi, when I changed my travel dates on Airbnb, my host didn't like it and kicked me out: I returned to France.

Clearly, luck wasn't on my side. But these troubles are part of the journey, and they wouldn't have stopped me if my art business hadn't exploded.

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3/ Exploded.

I left abroad 4 months ago and during this time frame:

• I launched my portrait course and generated over 100,000 euros in revenue.

• I gained 120,000 followers on Instagram.

• I hired a person (then I let them go).

• I hosted a 1-week free portrait training.

• I hosted a "Draw This In Your Style" challenge with over 700 entries.

• I became the mentor of hundreds of students from my course…

In short, my newly established art business exploded.. and I really wasn't prepared for it. 

Of course, I was grateful and excited, but I also found myself overwhelmed by business, management and traveling challenges, which left me no time to draw or even write these missives for you. 

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4/ The ONE thing.

In their book, Gary Keller and Jay Papasan explain the power of focusing on only ONE thing to reach your goal. They demonstrate that multitasking or doing multiple things makes it impossible to reach a specific goal.

“If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”

Thus, the key is figuring out your ONE most important thing in your art, life or even business and give it your undivided attention. So when I was kicked out and found myself in the middle of Hanoi with my heavy suitcases, I had to ask myself: what is my ONE thing?

• First, what am I trying to accomplish? To become an exceptional artist who touches people's hearts with my art.

• Next, where am I at? It seems so far away that it feels impossible.

• What is the ONE most important thing I can do? Certainly not traveling.

I realized that my ONE thing was to make art.

To gain XP points in drawing… To level up in the game of art… To defeat the bosses of portraits.

Of course, I'm not going to stop creating content or launching projects. Because the idea is not to stop everything else but to eliminate as much as possible in order to focus on your thing.

So, here are the changes I've implemented:

• Stop traveling and go back to France.

• Live in the countryside to cut off all distractions.

• Work with a business partner on everything unrelated to artistic creation (I'll introduce you to him in a future Missive; he’s trustworthy and it's thanks to him that I started posting my first drawings on Instagram!)

• Put Tuski on a diet because she gained too much weight in my absence (oops... I got carried away again).

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5/ Conclusion: be extreme.

My misadventures can at least teach us a valuable lesson: If you're struggling to achieve any goal, it’s because you're trying to do too many things at once.

Identify what’s most important and give it your undivided attention.

If you want to draw portraits, put landscapes aside for a while.

If you want to spend more time in museums, give up Netflix and chill and shopping days.

If you want to help your cat lose weight, ditch the treats.

Don't be afraid to be extreme, because extraordinary results are directly determined by how many things you choose to ignore.

That's all from me, see you next week! 😈

Léa

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