creativity and motivation

888888Selling ourselves the dream:777777777
Does everyone see grandiose potential in their creative endeavors? I suppose we must or why rewrite every chapter in a novel 5 or six times to get the wording just right. Surely we could not go to such efforts if we did not dare to dream of best seller lists and book clubs. No one would take pen or chisel or brush to hand if they did not harbor some dream of a masterpiece to be admired and cherished by an audience of some kind. No one could devote hours to following these dreams if the hope did not at least hover at the edges and whisper of fortunes to be made from the result.
Perhaps the fortunes to be made will not be ours. The antiques shows give us the perspective of time on the efforts of the creative mind. The hand carved chest made by a father for his newborn child may carry the same value as the great landscape painting done by an artist to earn his bread and butter. So I console myself with the thought that even if they are not recognized as highly prized objects now my works some day will indeed bring that high price to someone else.