So great to hear this from you.
It’s entirely motivating for me to get some positive feedback and know this helped even one person.
I’ll keep writing what comes through!
Thank you for your beautiful message of affirmation,

-Annabeth

After what seemed like forever, I got through the toughest patch. This helped tremendously: http://awakeningseminars.com/programs/awakening.html
And I began regularly attending talks at whichever Center for Spiritual Living happened to be near my nomadic base camp. Telling people “I’m an artist” was an eventual medicine too.

Three years later, I totally agree with this idea that creating a daily, weekly, monthly schedule and filling it with things in alignment with your values is key to building confidence. Lately, a weekly Skype date with a dear friend and fellow creator has also helped ground me in the realness of who I am and who I’m becoming.

And finally, a last idea and invitation: I believe that we, as humans, need some sort of gauge of accomplishment, some recognition of the things we are doing and dreaming. When you work as an independent artist–outside of an office, partnership or community–that recognition is hard to come by.

I recently left my job at a wonderful non-profit, river protection organization. Every Friday the Executive Director collected short sentences from employees in each department and compiled them into an email that would go out to the board and community members. This email was called: WEEKLY WINS and would chronicle anything (large or small) that we felt good about from that week related to our mission/vision.

So after I left my position there… I began doing that for myself and my art business, only I call it FANFARE FRIDAY (because in this world, sometimes you need trumpets and streamers just for getting out of bed!). Turns out, it was also a great way to signal to myself the end of the week and a job well-enough-done. It’s so easy when you don’t have a “real job” to work seven days a week and never feel satisfied or off-duty.
Only now, with the launch of my website and blog just weeks away, I’d like to start including submissions from other independent creators!

The trick is
-start your sentence with a verb (So it’ll read something like: booked two new venues for my summer tour, ordered “The Artist’s Way” book to read for support next month, set a timer and took a real lunch break! [ate on my front porch and watched the birds] etc.).
If you’d like to participate, or know someone who might, just shoot me an email at hello@jillianvanness.com.

Keep on keeping on! Thanks for all that you are and do and create, beautiful Annabeth.