Chapter 3, Fears About Yourself Summary and Analysis

One debilitating fear is the fear about one's self. Some fear that they are poseurs, mere pretenders of doing art. Many worry that they are faking it. When the artist is not extraordinary, she sometimes feels fake. Further, young artists often become self-conscious about their work, and over think, obsessing about their every move. The authors advise artists to stop focusing on themselves, but instead focus on the art. A person can pretend to be an artist, but she cannot pretend to be making art, even if it is bad.

The authors turn to talent. Many worry about whether they have talent; the authors claim that this is a waste of time. Not only can talent not be controlled, but it is only a small part of what matters. Since talent is "what comes easy...