Have you ever rated your motivation as a nine or 10, only to abandon your projects at the first sign of difficulty? Do you wonder why certain opportunities never materialize despite your talent, or why success seems to come more easily to others?

Perhaps it's time to honestly assess whether you're truly willing to do what it takes—not just some things, but everything required—to achieve the creative success you claim to want.

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares both tough love and genuine encouragement about the journey of becoming the person capable of creating the artistic life you desire. Drawing from personal experiences of financial hardship, setbacks, and eventual breakthroughs, he explores the gap between perceived motivation and demonstrated action.

Whether you're struggling with making excuses, taking full responsibility for your career, or developing true go-getter persistence, this episode offers a compassionate yet uncompromising invitation to honestly evaluate where you stand on your creative journey.
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Highlights:
00:17 – David’s fiery side
00:44 – How motivated are you?
05:47 – Have you read The Magic of Thinking Big?
10:38 – Have you read The Go-Getter?
14:56 – Summary
Summary:
In this powerful and challenging episode, David invites artists to honestly assess their level of motivation and commitment to success. Through direct questions, personal reflections, and practical examples, he explores the gap between what we say we want and what we're truly willing to do to achieve it, offering both tough love and genuine encouragement for the creative journey.
Key Themes & Takeaways

The crucial distinction between perceived motivation and actual willingness to take necessary actions
How success typically requires more effort and time than most people initially anticipate
The importance of taking complete responsibility for both successes and failures
The progressive nature of personal growth and how it enables creative achievement
The reality check of what being a true "go-getter" involves in practical scenarios

The Motivation Assessment
David begins with a direct challenge to listeners about their true level of commitment:

The honest self-evaluation of motivation on a scale from 0-10
The crucial question of what you're genuinely willing to do to achieve your goals
The gap between self-perception and demonstrated action
The relationship between motivation level and ability to persist through inevitable obstacles

"Are you willing to do nothing of what it takes to get to where you want to go? Are you willing to do some things that might be required to get you to where you want to go? Are you willing to do most things required to get you to where you want to go? Are you willing to do everything that's required for you to get to where you want to go?"

This straight-talking approach cuts through the comfortable illusions many artists maintain about their dedication level, asking them to examine their actions rather than their intentions.
The Success Timeline Reality
Drawing from personal experience, David addresses the often-unexpected nature of the creative journey:

The surprising length of time required to achieve meaningful goals
The inevitable obstacles and setbacks that test commitment
Personal reflections on his own journey through hardship to current success
How perseverance through difficult moments eventually leads to desired outcomes

"Understanding that very typically achieving success on your terms, whatever that may look like, takes way more effort than you think it will and takes way more time than you ever think it will. And that's been my experience as well."

By sharing his own moments of struggle—from financial hardships to personal challenges—David creates an authentic connection with listeners while demonstrating the realistic timeline of meaningful achievement.
The Excusitis Diagnosis
Drawing from "The Magic of Thinking Big," David introduces a powerful concept about the root of failure:

The "failure disease" of excusitis—the habit of making excuses
How to identify where you're currently making excuses in your career
The self-deception of blaming external circumstances for personal results
Practical examples of how strong mindset development overcomes external obstacles

"Where are you making excuses in your career right now? All you’ve got to do is look at what's not working. I mean, look at this soberly. Who else and what else is responsible for the results you've gotten in your career? It can't be external."

This section provides a practical framework for identifying excuse patterns while offering a refreshing perspective on personal agency in artistic careers.
The Leadership of Responsibility
David explores the increasingly rare quality of taking complete ownership:

The definition of true leadership as taking full responsibility for all results
The common pattern of claiming successes while deflecting failures
Real-world examples of how leaders trace problems back to their own decisions
The revolutionary nature of consistent responsibility-taking in today's environment

"People will take responsibility for their successes, but not their failures. So when their failures happen, they blame someone or something else... A leader always takes responsibility, not just for successes. That's easy to do. We could all take responsibility for successes... But taking responsibility for failures. Wow. Wouldn't that be revolutionary?"

This exploration of responsibility provides both a challenging perspective and a pathway to greater control over creative outcomes.
The Go-Getter Mentality
Through a detailed hypothetical scenario about booking a venue, David illustrates what true persistence looks like:

The progressive stages of follow-through that separate the majority from the committed few
How each additional step eliminates more competition
The willingness to overcome multiple obstacles and extended timelines
The practical reality of what separates successful artists from unsuccessful ones

"A go-getter would go and get the gig with the other venue, get the proper credentials, jump through whatever other hoops come up along their way to make this gig happen. So, the question is, on a scale of zero to 10, how much of a go-getter are you?"

This vivid example provides a concrete illustration of persistence that helps artists honestly evaluate their own follow-through tendencies.
Action Steps for Artists
For creators seeking to develop greater motivation and follow-through, David suggests:

Honestly assess your current motivation level on a scale of 0-10
Read and apply classic personal development works like "The Magic of Thinking Big" and "The Go-Getter"
Identify specific areas where you're making excuses and take ownership
Recognize that leadership qualities can be developed rather than requiring innate traits
Focus on becoming the person capable of achieving your goals rather than seeking shortcuts
Understand that discomfort and obstacles will continue to appear throughout the journey

The Journey of Becoming
The episode concludes with a compassionate yet challenging perspective:

The acceptance that where you are now is exactly where you need to be
The understanding that everyone faces ongoing challenges, even after apparent mastery
The empowering realization that becoming the right person matters more than innate qualities
The principle that what you're unwilling to do often becomes what you're forced to do

"Are you willing to go on a journey of becoming the person that you need to become to create what you want to create? That's the question."

This final challenge frames artistic development as a process of personal evolution rather than merely skill acquisition, offering both a tougher standard and a more compassionate approach to creative growth.
Additional Context
This episode arrives at a time when the creator economy offers more opportunities than ever, yet faces higher competition and greater potential for distraction. Research from the Creator Success Institute indicates that the top 20% of creators attribute their success primarily to persistence rather than talent, with follow-through being the strongest predictor of long-term achievement.

The episode's message about self-responsibility connects to broader conversations about agency in professional development. Recent studies show that professionals who attribute outcomes primarily to their own decisions report 42% higher job satisfaction and 37% greater resilience during career challenges than those who attribute outcomes to external factors.

Through direct questions and practical examples, this episode provides both the wake-up call and the pathway forward for artists ready to move beyond excuses and into the consistent action that creates meaningful results. By framing success as a journey of becoming rather than a matter of luck or talent, David offers an approach to artistic development that balances high expectations with genuine compassion.