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A dear friend of mine asked me a question recently that triggered me and made me go on a thinking rollercoaster. Her question was "How much money have you invested in stock market?"

I wondered what made her ask that question. To set the context right here, she is great friend and I trust her to be my well wisher and a self made successful lady. So she probably was unconsciously or consciously trying to evaluate where I stand. Am I a successful artist or a starving artist. I know my life looks very vibrant but it's not easy to make out how much money I could be making. It's ingrained in us humans to compare our lives with people around us based on what's seen outside. It happens automatically and so seamlessly that it takes immense awareness to stop that train of thought. 

Had she asked me this question five to seven years back or earlier, it would have irked me and I would have felt disturbed. Because I was a lost person and making money was still a far off thought. I was busy learning and still figuring it out at thirty four. Sounds scary right ? That I missed the train of a stable career and then money and then savings and then leveraging the power of compounding. yup ! I graduated and unlike many others I didn't have any clarity. 

But now it made me think deep enough. Somehow it made me feel proud of how far I have come and what I have been able to achieve in past few years. Yeah  sometimes we forget to look back and reflect. Her question made me do that.

From outside it probably looks like that I am brave to have chosen the path I am on. Reality being that I had to uproot myself from what I thought would be my career and plant myself where I thought I belonged. I had no clue where I would end up. I was full of self doubt. I had hit rock bottom and basically had nothing to lose. I never once thought I was brave. Probably I was, I don't know. I prepared myself to believe and say out loud confidently that " I am an Artist" and not speak a word about my background in engineering and sciences because each time I uttered " I am an Engineer ", it never felt right in my heart. I definitely have benefited from my education immensely and would remain grateful for it but I don't consider myself an engineer in any way. It was a detour I took and travelled a long distance to become the painter I am today.

It takes immense power to believe that "painting" alone can be a career. That one can not only live well but rather thrive as an artist. There are lot of myths about art as a career. But in my own experience, it's a very rewarding career if one is made for it and is ready to pursue it with all the vigour and rigour. Age doesn't matter here. Formal qualification doesn't matter. All that matters is....whether one can paint well, loves to paint and can paint a lot....whether one is ready to share it openheartedly with people around....and whether one can slog it out and remain disciplined without expecting immediate results. Whether one can remain self motivated...Is one ready to dedicate ten years time?.....Is one a  lifelong learner ?....and last but not the least....whether one uses common sense at all times.

oh ! Please don't get offended ! Give me two minutes to explain....So let's take an example here....Say you want to start a new career in fine arts and don't have any idea whether you are made for it. Who would you go to to discuss this with ? Husband? Father? Mother ? A Friend ? But isn't it disastrous to do that if these people don't understand art and art world? Indeed it is. This is how millions of dreams get killed even before they begin. And this is what I mean by "common sense". "To not take unsolicited advice from anyone who isn't a SME." is to me common sense. I have to consciously keep that common sense switch always on when I am in the arena. I had and have to unconditionally believe in myself when people around me didn't and don't.

So what I wanted to answer that friend of mine....."It's my day to day routine and quality of my time spent that counts. And yes I do have quite a good amount invested in stock market, and today I am self sufficient to earn my own bread and much more....the much more is huge...I see my future so bright that it burns my eyes. I see myself living a fulfilled life until I live on this earth. On one hand I feel like I have retired because my work doesn't feel like work, but on the other hand I know am never going out of business and never retiring. My work makes me so satisfied and content from within that cannot be described in words. I probably am not rich enough yet to afford a seven star holiday but guess what ! Am rich enough to go on a backpacking trip. The place in my head where I dwell all the time is very beautiful. To me that matters a lot ! Rest will follow ! No offence to people who sit in front of laptop wondering from Monday to Friday when will the weekend arrive and when will they retire to be able to live a life that they dream of while looking outside the beautiful window during their coffee break. No offence to people who live for that moment of happiness when they hear a notification sound on their mobile phone each time during the beginning of the month. For me life is too precious to live like that. To each their own."

" The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.

   THEY MUST BE FELT WITH HEART"

   Hellen Keller