“Am I good enough?”

It's a question every person struggles with, but it often takes a different form for someone in a creative field such as:

1. Will I ever be good enough to make a living at this?
2. Will I ever be able to create images like that photographer I follow?
3. Am I good enough to be able to charge $xxxx for my services?

Although these questions are valid and important, I believe there is a much more productive question we should be asking.

“How bad do I want it?”

What are you willing to do to answer “Yes” to the questions above? Be honest with yourself.

Are you willing to:

1. Do unpaid (gasp) work to attract the kind of clients you desire.
2. Spend every waking moment learning and soaking up knowledge from other people in the industry.
3. Invest in the gear you need to achieve your goals.
4. Pay a website/logo designer to help you create a cohesive brand for you.
5. Spend hours tweaking sliders in lightroom to develop your style.

While natural talent is definitely a factor of success, I think that passion, hard work, and sacrifice are largely overlooked. The list above may be circumstantial, but it should give you an idea of what type of lengths some of your peers are willing to go to in order to achieve their goals.

I am hoping this list will simply encourage you to take a look at how dedicated you are to developing your craft. What else could you do to improve? How much effort are you willing to put in? How bad do you want it?