Artist Motivation with Ira Cross

“Weak people confuse arrogance for confidence.” When I hear weak people in this quote, I don’t think of those that are physically weak. Therefore, confidence also doesn’t come from physical strength. However, if you build your physical strength, you can gain some confidence. People that are weak emotionally, mentally, or within their own maturity, will always see confidence in others as arrogance....

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“Control what you can control.” Today is a tough day. As I write this I don’t feel very much in control of what is happening around me. I’m doing my best to focus on the positives, but I’m really struggling with it. When I have moments like this, I tell myself. Control what you can control. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or pai...

“I would rather give my energy to my dream, not my nightmare.” – Will I Am I’ve witnessed people upset that they don’t have their dream job. I know that someone can’t just wiggle their nose and make that happen. (Yes, that was a Bewitched reference for those that know.) This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I also...

"My advice, don't waste so much time worrying about your skin or your weight. Develop what you do, what you put your hands on in the world." – Meryl Streep Is what you’re focused on helping you to grow in your craft or is it helping you LOOK like you’re growing in your craft? We live in a society that is driven by outward appearances and fake success. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive...

“Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made.” - George Burns On I agree with this quote, but I also disagree with it. Acting is all about honesty. To be believable in your performance you have to be real in your performance. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. It has to come from somewh...

“Sometimes your puzzle piece doesn’t fit for a reason.” Do you really wanna be like everyone else? And if you do why do you want to? What do you gain from being like everyone else? When I was a teacher, I used to start the year off telling my students they’re weird AND to be proud of it. If a kid tells you you’re weird at recess, smile, say thank you and keep it moving. This Substack is reader-sup...

“Expectations aren’t a burden, they’re a privilege.” – Lebron James Whether you create the expectations for yourself or the expectations are placed upon you, they are there for a reason. Embrace them with open arms. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I know that there are unfair expectations thrust upon people....

"It is not the most brilliant who excel, but the most patient." – Martin Scorsese Patience is a virtue, but not in the moral sense. What I mean is in the sense that it is a very good thing. What this means is that patience has the ability to help you create great things. Don’t misunderstand, this doesn’t mean wait and stand by to do the work and create. It just means that you need to work through...

“If not you for you, then who for you?” – Rebekah Sherman-Myntti If you want to see something different, go make it. Go do it. If you aren’t seeing what you think should be out there, go make it. Go do it. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. These things won’t be there if YOU don’t make them or do them. Everythin...

“Enjoy the plateau while you’re on it.” Life has its ups and downs. So does your art. There are also plateaus. We often look at these moments as a negative. But they aren’t. You never think of a plateau as a negative thing when it happens on the way from a “down”. Plateaus in your art are actually neutral points. They are there for resting. A reset. A pause. You may need to let the dust settle. Wh...

“Quantity creates quality.” In order to create, you have to create. Sounds simple but I swear so many people make it complicated. There’s a story I heard about two people creating. They were both told to create the dopest most amazing clay pot they could make in one week. One person was told to create only one pot. The other was told they could make as many as they wanted to. Who made the best pot...

“Work-life balance is a term society uses to control people who don't know what they want.” When you don’t know what you want but you still need to earn a living, it’s hard to be passionate about your work. As an artist, everything we do is related to our work. I’m not expecting someone that works an office job to be passionate about making sure Stan from accounting gets the necessary paperwork by...

“If you want to invent the lightbulb, you can’t try to make a different candle.” You’re doing the same thing as everyone else. You’re following the trend videos, instead of making that video you think is weird but you. You’re auditioning without making any bold choices to set you apart. You keep doing the same things from before thinking it will be different because it’s a different time. Now don’...

“We’re all going to die someday. But not right away.” Something I’ve heard is that everyone has a birth date and death date. What’s important is the dash between. What are you doing between those two dates? I know I personally don’t want to live a life where I have any regrets. I want to live a life knowing I put everything I could into being me and sharing it with the world. George Bernard Shaw s...

“You can’t be conservative and consider yourself an artist.” Being an artist is constantly moving forward. You can’t think small or make gentle decisions about what you do. Even when things you do seem small, they aren’t. Being an artist is an exclamation. You are creating. Creating in and of itself is an act of progress. Making something for the benefit of others. You can’t create something and c...

“Why are you already telling yourself that something that you haven't even created might not be good?” When you do this, you’re telling yourself no before you get started. Let them tell you no. And then go do your own thing. If you’re auditioning for a role, let them tell you this part isn’t right for you. If you’re writing a script, let them tell you it’s not relatable to others. If you’re starti...

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“Humans don’t create. We find connections between things that others don’t see.” Inspiration comes from any and everywhere. Case in point, a lot of people may or may not know the musical artist Dido. She’s a singer from the UK and personally I know her but mostly from a song collaboration that she did with an American artist. Let's put a pin in that for a second and we’ll come back to it. The song...

“The role of the artist is to save some of the people some of the time.” If you make art for everyone you will fail. Not all art is meant for every person. There are people that think Picasso’s paintings are bad. There are people that feel like Beyoncé was better when she was with Destiny’s Child. Some people find Jim Carrey to be insufferable. There are people that think most photography all look...

“Perfection isn’t real. Perfectionism is a disguise for your fear of what people will think.” As an artist, you should never be striving for perfection. It’s not attainable. To be real, it isn’t appealing. “Faults” in things make them unique. If you were to go into a “cookie cutter” neighborhood, you’d get bored with the house design. Personally, I get lost easily in them because everything looks...

“Sometimes the solution of the problem is better than the original idea.” – Tyler the Creator When I was in college writing a paper sometimes I’d get so into writing that I’d forget to save. Yes there was a time before autosave. Wild. I know. But I would forget to save and then my paper would be gone forever. I had two options in this situation. Say screw it, I’m not writing it again. Or Write it...

“There’s no certainty only opportunity.” If everything was a sure thing, nothing would be worth the risk. Taking a risk means the thing you’re trying to do or create will be worth it in the end. And if you fail, you will have attempted something you’ve never done. With that, you will have created another opportunity. One of my favorite types of opportunities. A learning opportunity. This is where...

“The answer is no to every question you don’t ask.” Fear and rejection are definitely two strong things in our brains. However, fear isn’t real. Fear is the illusion of danger that works to keep us from moving confidently. Rejection actually isn’t even a bad thing. Rejection is just being told no. The ironic thing about that is that we often tell ourselves no before we even try. We often tell ours...

"Without commitment, you'll never start. Without consistency, you'll never finish." Starting is so very important to accomplishing any task. Without the first step there is no final one. The first step can be terrifying, but it is not without its rewards. The first step always leads to many more. What is just as important, if not more important, is consistency. I’ve found myself hyped up on motiva...