How Beeple can teach us not to rush in our creative pursuits and how overnight success stories never are what they seem
The first time I heard about NFTs (Non-fungible tokens), I thought it was another bubble, and people will forget about it in a day or two.
But I was wrong.
When I fully understood its concept and how it helped artists monetize their art, I was hooked. A few days later, I heard the news about how an artist managed to sell his art for $69 million.
Many weren’t happy about the fact and called it insane. The artist that sold that painting was Michael Winkelman (known professionally as Beeple), and the painting was “Everydays — The First 5000 Days.”
Some called him an overnight success but is that true?
Story of Beeple
In an interview with Chris Do from the Futur, Beeple mentioned that he’s been drawing for 14 years. He’s made a habit of producing one piece of art every day ever since he got into art.
The fun fact here is he had been doing it while working on commissioned work, a healthy marriage, and raising kids.
When the news of Beeple selling his NFT of $69m went viral, many called it an overnight success because nobody had heard of him before. None of his work has seen such virality and accolades before, and those who were calling it an overnight success cared little to do their research either.
Calling someone who’s been creating digital art for 14 years, an overnight success sounds absurd. However, it happens to most of the great artists and creators. The concept of overnight success is a myth.
JK Rowling was an overnight success for people, but they have no idea that she wrote the harry potter series for years and got rejected 12 times before Bloomsbury accepted the first book.
Indian musician, Yashraj Mukhate who was trending throughout the last quarter of 2020, was called an overnight success. People had no idea that the guy was creating music for 12 years before getting a viral hit.
There are tons of such examples of overnight success who took years to reach that one night to become a household name. These stories look glamorous from the outside, but they have a solid foundation that we don't see on mainstream media.
The story of all these creators and especially Beeple shows why we should stick to our lane and practice our craft with conviction and patience in silence because when the time comes, we'll be rewarded for the hard work that nobody noticed before.
What made the $69m possible was not just one painting but all the art he produced in his 14 years of creator journey.
Practice your craft in silence
This is an excellent reminder for creators not to get distracted by new trends and new tech. Sticking to your core values and your craft will be the greatest nominator for your success, not one viral piece or a being on the very new platform.
Forget about that one moment that’s going to change your life, don't lose hope, lay one brick after another, become so good at what you do that nobody can ignore you anymore.
Become so good that you don’t have to go to people, they come to you. This quote by Tony Robbins explains it much better.
“You are rewarded in public for what you have intensely practiced & refined in private.”
We are the generation of instant gratification; we want everything now. When we post a video or write a new article and don’t get the desired result, we feel dejected.
We question ourselves—our craft.
We forget that great work takes practice and years of hard work. The greatest minds ever lived didn’t become what they are by getting one viral tweet or one Tiktok video. This long process allows us to see what we are passionate about and what we can do for a long time without seeing any results.
The startup world is similar to the creative world in this way; it takes an average of 5–6 years of a startup to get to positive cash flow.
“Our “overnight” success took 1,000 days.”
— Brian Chesky, AirBnb
Can you do it for 10 years?
As a creator, looking for instant gratification could be a deal-breaker for your success. Getting a viral article here and there doesn’t matter if you are in for a long-term game.
A long-term game is played when you focus on building a creative system for yourself and creating every day for years because you love the process and are not affected by the results.
Naval Ravikant, in one of his interviews, mentioned how it takes 10 years to build a career in anything. It takes 10 years to build a business. Are you ridiculously passionate about it? Because it takes longer than you think.
Be patient, it takes time.
Beeple did the same thing. He didn’t plan to get famous and become the renowned artist that he’s today. He only kept drawing for 14 years, and one day all his efforts got compounded into an art piece that made him a superstar in the digital art world.
Overnight success looks good on paper, but when you dig deeper, you’ll know it’s not that smooth. People work hard in silence for years until the result makes a roar in public after years of hard work and persistence.
“Overnight success just doesn’t happen. You’ve got to put your time in. You’re up and down — all of a sudden, it just clicks.”
— Anthony Calvillo
Parting thoughts
As a multi-disciplinary creator for the last 4–5 years, I understand how it feels to be rejected by publications. I know how it feels to get 50 views on a video you spent 20 hours making. It’s not easy. But If it were, we wouldn't be proud to call ourselves creators, would we?
There’s nothing easier than being a creator in today's world. However, to be a successful creator, you require more than just your craft. You need a ridiculous amount of patience and conditional love for your vocation.
You’re nobody today, but if you don’t give up now — you’ll be somebody one day : )
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