"Art is the work of a human, an individual seeking to make a statement, to cause a reaction, to connect. Art is something new, every time, and art might not work, precisely because it's new, because it's human and because it seeks to connect." - Seth Godin

You frequently find yourself at a fork in the road where you have to decide whether to take the path that has been taken by so many before you, or take the path that lets you do art.

You can choose to be safe, to not take any risk, to not draw any attention to yourself, to play by the proverbial book and do what has been done before. Or you can choose to take a stand, to think for yourself, to connect and make art.

If you are a writer, a movie director, a fashion designer or a singer, you have no systems and processes to hide behind. What you do is directly and immediately visible to the audience. You have no choice but to let yourself be vulnerable and to make art.

But what if your work is not immediately visible to the audience? What if you have the option to not make your work personal? What if you can completely disassociate your job from your personality? Most jobs fall in this category. Especially if you work in a large corporation. Then you can choose to not make art. You can choose to follow guidelines prescribed by others, meet deadlines set by others. You can choose to not decide how you wish to take things forward.

Or you can choose to make art.