This week, I wanna help you feel better about yourself as an independent artist, with three ways to celebrate your small wins. I’m John Paul Fischbach, I’m the CEO and Chief Alchemist here at the Auspicious Arts Incubator. And this week is all because being an independent artist is hard work. And quickly, sadly, it can all become too hard. And I bet it feels hard, partially, because you are minimizing your achievements. Lots of you deserve to feel better about yourself, to feel more confident, to feel stronger, to feel more capable. And I know you’ve heard this before, you have to celebrate the small wins. So, yes, I would love to not even have this hot tip, just say, “Do that,” but let’s go into what that means.

Why do we say celebrate the small wins? I’m talking about celebratingthe initial steps, I’m talking about celebrating the small steps of progress you make. Look, if you’re like most of the artists that we work with, you don’t do that, right? Do you even take notice of the times that you knocked off your entire To Do List, the times that you stretched or pushed yourself, the times that you’ve added flair and creativity to the world? I bet you don’t, you know? When was the last time that you ended the day acknowledging that you did a good job today? Look, plenty of days you do that, you do a good job. But at the end of the day, you go to bed without noticing what you achieved, right? Well, maybe that’s because you’re waiting for the big win, right? “Oh, I’m gonna celebrate when I get the big win.” Well, if you’re not allowing yourself to feel the small wins, the big win won’t have any celebration either. When was the last time you gave yourself credit? What did you do to celebrate? Look, easy. Did you just tell someone that you did something good? Did you journal about it? Did you post on social media about it? Did you give yourself some kind of a treat?

Well, here’s three ways to celebrate your small wins. Number one, key, absolutely important, is to create a look back time. I want the same time, each week, that you’ve set aside to think about the wins that you had this week. You know, what did I do well this week? What did I achieve? What just went well this week? What good thing happened that I didn’t even anticipate, you know? What could I notice that brought me joy or brought me accomplishment? What small step did I take that’s getting me closer, moving me forward, or making me better next week? Right? You have to integrate accomplishments into your identity or this is just not gonna happen for you. So, when is your time gonna be, right? When is your look back time? I want you to schedule it, every week, you have to do this.

Number two thing is allow yourself to feel the win, not just write it on a list, not just make a quick list, I want you to feel it, to integrate it, right? I want you to close your eyes, I want to allow some heartfelt satisfaction for recognizing yourself, right? There is power in our emotions. We’re awesome, creative, intelligent, emotional people, so bring the emotion in. If you’re not feeling the win, doesn’t work. So, feel that joy. It actually builds your confidence. Look, you’re an artist, you’re doing what you love. Feel it, connect to it. You are the most important person in your business. Feel that, appreciate that.

The third thing is share the win. Now, I want you to share the win with real enthusiasm. So, it’s not about bragging, it’s just simply sharing, right? If you minimize your achievement, then you’re lying, right? You’re an artist, no minimizing, maximize, right? Be enthusiastic about what you achieve. Others will be enthusiastic because of your enthusiasm. The best thing you can do to steer the win is to get a celebration buddy. Find a friend in your list of artists that you know and join a pact that, at this time every week, you’re gonna review achievements and accomplishments. And then, just share the win, right? So, schedule your look back time, feel the win, and share the win because lots of you deserve to feel better about yourself, to feel more confident, to feel stronger, way more capable. So, please, celebrate the small wins. You’ve heard it before so just do it.

Okay. If that’s helpful, please share that with a friend. And as always, if you want greater detail and understand more about this, then have a look at the ASAP program. It’s the way that you’re gonna make steady progress every week. You’re gonna be in a group of people who are also trying to build their business, and you’re gonna get real practical help all the time. All right, see you later.