"

Shadow artists judge themselves harshly, beating themselves for years over the fact that they have not acted on their dreams. This cruelty only reinforces their status as shadow artists.

Remember, it takes nurtuting to make an artist. Shadow artists did not receive sufficient nurturing. They blame themselves for not acting fearlessly anyhow.

Progress, not perfection, is what we shoould be asking of ourselves.

There will be many times when we wont look good - to ourselves or anyone else. We need to stop demanding that we do. It is impossible to get better and look good at the same time.

- "But do you know how old I will be by the time I learn to really play the piano/ act/ paint/ write a decent play?"

- "Yes, the same age you'll be if you dont"

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