Getting started sounds so easy – but for millions of aspiring artists and creatives, the uncertainty of the path forward presents a very real challenge. So, we wanted to gather some artists and creatives we admire to open up about their experience and how they think about whether they should have started sooner or waited for a better time.

Prince Nurse

I’ve always been a creative, from the age of 8, I envisioned wanting to work for Nickelodeon as an animator, running a 2 hour block, so for me? I wish my career started then, because I was ready, with the ideas, the vision, the talent. Read more>>

Rachel Bu

I used to wish I had begun or built Authorne earlier back in my 20s, as it would have provided me with more time to establish a youthful and trendy brand. Read more>

Brent Fisher

I think this question is important. All too often, I believe that creators – and individuals across a wide range of professions – subscribe to the notion that there is a chronology to a career, or to success. Read more>>

David Bradburn

I didn’t start working professionally until I was 40. I started making films when I was in high school, but I had no idea how to or that it was a possibility to for me to professional. Read more>>

Gabby Fletcher

As a youth I was consistently carrying a camera with me. I would take photos at every family function, stop on the side of the road to snap a few pictures, and take my friend’s senior photos. Read more>>

Maria Mae

YES! I think this will be my one largest regret in life. Not initially listening to my calling and intuition leading me down this path. I listened to the naysayers early on in life and didn’t even contemplate that art could be pursued as a creative career. Read more>>

Olive Okoro

Definitely, and not really. I used to be really obsessed with age. More particularly, the age at which people reach so-called ‘success.’ Read more>>

Dee Chambers

I always think about if I had started on my initial dream of being a radio personality sooner. My Mother was against it and I somehow finessed an internship at the local radio station and saw how much money was being made and that was NOT enough for me. Read more>>

Liliana Yang

In the past, I used to think that starting sooner would have put me in a better place. But now, living in the present, I realize that right now is the best time. Read more>>

Darcy Goedecke

I had always wanted to be an artist and went to college in pursuit of my dream. I had had the same retail job for most of college and when I graduated I decided to step into a managerial role. Read more>>

Achim Mendoza

I actually think this is an excellent question because as someone who had desk job back in the Philippines (as a translator of Filipino soap operas no less!), I do sometimes fantasize what would have happened if I did start my serious transition to film a lot later (or just decided to not work the day job altogether). Read more>>

Angela Naomi

Several times I have asked myself what would’ve happened if I had started my acting career sooner. Although I was doing some acting throughout my 20s and even 30s, I wasn’t fully in that arena. Read more>>

Jean Macaluso

I wish I had started my art career much earlier because I love doing what I do! I didn’t take the usual pathway of a 4 year college after high school. Read more>>

Philip John Bedwell

I think I’ve become a full-time creative at the perfect time. I was in a successful corporate job but my creativity was non-existent. I listened to my heart and knew my true calling lay beyond this secure but monotonous lifestyle. Read more>>

Shauna Knapp

Yes, I was trying to start my career earlier but I was not allow to sing, karaoke go out or anything in my 1st relationship. I made a song called Rainfall and in that song it talks about a female in a relationship however is being abuse. Read more>>

Jerrick Thomas

Yes I do wish I would’ve started my creative career sooner than than I did maybe at the age of 25 years old instead of 30 but things have worked out great since. Read more>>

Micah Jackson

I would say I wish I had started my career sooner. I’ve been making music for about 8-9 years now. But, when I was first starting out, I didn’t have a dream for music. Read more>>

Kelley Donnelly

The fact that I was born with a creative spark endlessly burning inside me, the years I did not create plagued me constantly and left me with a lot of regret. Read more>>

Samad Onque

That’s an interesting question because I could easily answer yes but that would mot be totally accurate. When I graduated college, I had this romanticized idea of how my art career would be. Read more>>

Kalin Monet

Growing up as an only child for the first ten years of my life, art became an integral part of my existence. From crafting paper doll houses to attempting to replicate characters from cartoons, my creative endeavors evolved over time. Read more>>