Everyday, somewhere, there is an aspiring artist or creative daydreaming about pursing their creative career full time. Everyday, there are countless creatives thinking about whether to pursue their passion more seriously and so we wanted to hear from folks who’ve made the leap. We asked them to reflect on if they wish they had started sooner or if they feel they would have been better off if they had waited a bit longer.

Feiran Wang

I sometimes think about this question. Until recently I’ve been involved with art only sporadically, in a random, accidental manner; for example, I remember watching my grandpa’s brother doing Chinese brush painting when he visited my grandparents during summer break; I was a little kid and I remembered I had enjoyed watching him painting the plum blossom. I never went to art school or systematically studied art. I only started to be a professional artist a few years back, after I graduated from master’s architecture. Read more>>

Evonee Mason

I do wish I would have started sooner and had the knowledge I do now. I would most likely be further off in my career. Not that I’m not doing well now, but if I would have started earlier I think I would have better opportunities and more knowledge on my craft. Read more>>

Alexandra Garcia

Up until last year, I thought I wanted to be a full time visual artist and illustrator. However, it wasn’t one of those tingling feelings you get when you know you were meant to do something. It was more like, “Well, this is what I’m really good at, and I’ve made some money doing it, so I guess this is what’s in the cards for me.” Read more>>

Mike Habs

Great question! I think the answer is different for everyone too, because I believe it becomes a matter of someone’s objectives, goals, and priorities . Read more>>

Vonte Marquiss

I always have that wish in the back of my mind, where would I be if I started dancing earlier? Read more>>

Puja Shah

For the years prior to my transition into a fiction author, I worked in healthcare with a large corporation and state government. It was almost opposite of the creative path I am on now! There were moments I had wished I had followed my gut instinct as a teenager as I always know I was a writer at heart, but did not have the courage to pursue it back then. Read more>>

Iliana Guibert

Actually I feel I started my career right when I needed to. I worked in the corporate sector most of my life. When I got laid off, I took it as a blessing in disguise as it gave me the opportunity to pursue a life long dream. I now bring all my corporate skills and sensibility to my work as an actress and producer and it’s serving me quite well. I feel blessed to have the best of both worlds. Read more>>

Marjorie Thompson

Yes definitely. I held back for so long, that I feel I have a lot of work to do to catch up. Read more>>

Bryce Warmouth

This is a question that I feel very strongly about. My easy answer is yes, I had a fire burning in me to play music all throughout High School. I simply was nervous to hear what everyone around me would think. I wish that I had begun my musical journey at the point the my passion for it started. Read more>>

Tommy Lei

I wish I had started my fine art photography journey a lot sooner. It took me nearly a decade to actually start sharing my photography and identifying myself as a fine artist. Despite the fact that my former professional lives have always been in the creative realm, I am still weathering through moments of doubt and imposter syndrome. Any artist, whether emerging or established, still combats those insecurities daily. Read more>>

Destiny Contreras

Personally, I don’t wish to change a thing. I feel as though everything has aligned for me in this very present moment. Although, of course I would have loved to have the courage to pursue this dream of mine sooner, maybe I would have made it further…. Or maybe not. Read more>>

Todd Jackson

I believe my creative career started exactly when it needed to. Of course, everything is clear in hindsight and in those moments, I’m sure I felt lost or meandering, but there are a lot of lessons learned that may not have occurred had I started this creative journey sooner. Read more>>

Giovannie Dixon

Man I always think about the idea of where would I be now if I had started doing art earlier but I am a firm believer of everything happening for a reason so ultimately the answer is no. I am happy with when I started doing art and when I got into the business of art, which has all been within the last five years. Read more>>

Aaron Dooley

For me, I don’t think it is a matter of having started sooner, but I wish I had taken it more seriously at an earlier age. Spread my wings sooner and get out of my comfort zone. Developed a musical discipline sooner. I was misguided in my approach for years and I think it hindered my progress. Can’t wallow in regret, though. Gotta keep my eyes on the future and live in the present. Read more>>

Pierre “CiinderFella” Davison

I always wanted to see myself as a “Child Star” it looked very fulfilling then what my life was at that time during my childhood, not to say it was bad or anything but just saw myself in a different light. Read more>>

Layla Moody

I do wish I would have began my creative career sooner. But I am a firm believer that everything happens when it supposed too. This is definitely a great time for launching a creative career with advances in technology, marketing and social media! The timing couldn’t’ve have been better for me. Read more>>

Dominic Agatep

I initially started working in music in 1997, right after high school. I was performing regularly with a band but was not making much income from it so I decided to put a hold on music to pursue a career in sales and start a family. Getting back into music in 2020 and working with many different artist now, I realize that it takes a lot of maturity, focus, and drive to be successful. Read more>>

Fairlie Arrow

I was very fortunate to grow up in Australia around horses, I got to ride everyday and there’s nothing better for a kid to love a horse and be loved by a horse. that is something that has always stayed with me and that where I became an advocate for all animals. I later got into the music industry where I spent most of my life, and I didn’t discover filmmaking till much much later, so yes absolutely I wish I had discovered my purpose earlier, however, I have to believe that everything that came before, will contribute to the work I do now. Read more>>

Lewis Crumsey

I wish I had started my dj/producer journey earlier in my life. The amount of fun I’m having performing and sharing the music I love has been such a joy, Not only from DJing but from my production side as well. Being able to create my own take on the music I love has been a exciting and challenging experience. I just wish sometimes I started sooner. Read more>>

Kevin Lewis Jr

I definitely wish that I would’ve started working on the media side of things way sooner than I did. After seeing how fast my brand has grown in 2 years, it’s no telling where we would’ve been if I started it 5-10 years ag. Read more>>

Vanessa Whaite

I find myself reflecting on my career journey more often than not, and I do wish I had started it sooner. It’s a sentiment that lingers, especially considering that I consciously chose to delay it in favor of building a family and being there for my kids until they went off to college. However, life had a different plan, and that phase never came to pass. I did get married, twice, but the dream of having children never materialized, and I to the day, I can’t predict why it has eluded me. Read more>>

Michael Shaw

If I had to do over again, I would have begun my so-called “creative career” later than I did, and here’s why: Read more>>

Remie Gasirabo

Growing up as a kid, I always felt like I could have any career I wanted if I put my mind to it. I never really struggled academically. My problem was I could not figure out how to sync my passions with a well paying job. On top of the distractions that come along with a heavily active social life. Read more>>

Laura Lejuwaan

That’s a great question. Since my earliest memories, I’ve been drawn to the world of creativity. As a young girl, my passion for the arts knew no bounds. I would immerse myself in writing poetry, sketching characters from the Sunday comic section, art directing photo shoots with a neighbor friend, writing and performing in plays in my front yard, and even dedicating hours to roller figure skating in my driveway with hopes of one day being in the Olympics (I know, it was a bit ambitious). Read more>>

Bobbi Reagins

Honestly neither. I think I’m right where I need to be in this exact moment. I remember during the lockdown in 2019 and sometimes recently when I hit a block or get down I reflect on a lot and may question things. It’s normal and human to do so. What always helps me realize I’m on the path that’s meant for me is the ability to look at how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown. Read more>>

Robert Chew

Looking back now, I wish I had started my life as an artist from the beginning. There is really nothing more rewarding. I had artists in the family and was in awe of them. I drew and took photographs, but I never really thought it would be a viable pursuit. My father was in the “Mad Men” advertising and publishing industry in the Midwest. Read more>>

Jay McKinney

As a self-published author I wish I would have written my first book much sooner. I tend to overthink things which contributed to me only now publishing my first book. The amazing thing is that the book was always inside me I just didn’t release it and make time to get it out for others to enjoy. Read more>>

TJ $uavé

I always think about how much further I could be if I started making beats in high school like I first attempted. I sung in the choir, and we actually had a music studio built into the back of our chorus room. After school, we use to go back there on the iMac which had Garage Band and just make songs with beats we found off Youtube, like everyone else of course. Read more>>

Jessy Rice

I wish I had started it much sooner than I did. Read more>>

Elizabeth Kahn

This has been a question I have been asking myself my whole life. Because I didn’t pursue a career in the arts right away, I always wondered if I made a mistake. I would go back and forth in my head about whether or not I made the right decision of not pursuing my creative career early on in my life, rather than waiting until now to. Read more>>

Jeysson Martin

The system in which we live offers us a professional perspective for which you must start training, you wish that you are a child and you are starting your learning processes. This does not mean that this system works properly. Taking into account that they do not cross a path of generic “training” that does not care about the specific tastes and abilities of the individual until an advanced age. Read more>>

Lenaille Smith

Title: “Hindsight Wisdom: Starting Sooner in Business” Read more>>