On the Art of Encouragement

“Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. – Sir Ernest Shackleton.”

That’s what the British Antarctic explorer is alleged to have written for an ad that he placed in the London newspapers in 1900 to prepare for the National Antarctic Expedition.

Historians think it doubtful. The ad, they allege, is an apocryphal tale that tradition loves to tell about one of the most famous explorers in British history who died poor, dispirited, and diminished in reputation.

What’s not apocryphal, however, is the “constant danger” part.

Days into his 1914 expedition, Shackleton’s ship, the “Endurance,” suffered a catastrophic turn of events and was crushed in a vise of ice, marooning the crew for more than a year. At its end, the ship sunk pathetically to the bottom of the Weddell Sea, near the northeastern tip of Antarctica, leaving Shackelton with frostbitten fingers as a morbid keepsake.

Something like Shackleton’s alleged ad, I argue, should be posted on the front cover of every art book.

“Warning: Hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter rejections. Long months of loneliness. Constant danger from self-doubt and from people saying, ‘You’re wasting your time.’ Honor and recognition in case of success—but likely not financial.”

It’s hard being an artist. I’ve worked with hundreds and hundreds of artists over the years and I’ve seen plenty succeed, plenty fail, many losing the battle against cruel disappointments and failed expectations.

If you asked me to tell you the “Three Most Important Things Artists Need,” it would be this: encouragement.

Artists are made and unmade by the words of encouragement that they receive—or never receive. Without it, they get bullied by the fears that haunt and harass their hearts. If the fears are left unchecked, artists will give up or, worse, “settle.”

With the right amount of encouragement, however, artists are given the strength to press through their fears and to discover new energies to generate new work.

So if you come across an artist this week, go ahead and encourage them. It’ll mean a heck of a lot.