Have you heard of Inktober? It’s an awesome drawing challenge created by the talented Jake Parker that requires consistency and commitment.
Throughout the month of October, artists across the globe are challenged to create a daily drawing.
That’s 31 drawings if you aren’t sure how many days are in October. :)
After being heavily involved in the business side of Perspective-Collective for the past two months, I was eager for a drawing challenge. I’m actually surprised I’ve never jumped at a commitment like this before because I’m infamous for piling projects on my plate.
The challenge has recently ended and it solidified that I’m a freakin’ pro at committing to being consistent……..at things that aren’t always best to focus on at a given moment in time.
You see, consistency and commitment are great. There are huge benefits to developing these disciplines which I will cover in a bit. On the other hand, there are also consequences when you’re not focused on the right thing at the right time.
I want to show you both ends of the spectrum in hopes you will focus on consistency and commitment in the right areas of your creative career.
The Benefits of Consistency and Commitment
I credit much of any success I’ve had with Perspective-Collective to consistency and commitment.
Both have provided me:

confidence and growth in my art, writing and speaking
a steadily growing audience
great freelance opportunities
a recent successful product launch over at WeeklyContentChecklist.com
a constant stream of new knowledge
great interviews with well-known blogs and podcasts
etc.

I’ve learned that focusing on the right thing at the right time leads to greater rewards and growth. This was the case with a consistent commitment to drawing, blogging, and now podcasting.
The results, routine and discipline you develop far outweigh the initial pain points of getting started.
There’s no question I put the right focus in these areas, but there are other areas I focus on that hold me back from the overall vision.
That’s where you run into problems.
 
The Inktober Mistake
Back to Inktober—while it was fun, looking back on it now I see it wasn’t the best decision.
Here’s why….
My goal is to make Perspective-Collective a self-sufficient, full-time gig within the next 5 years so myself and my wife can work from home. The problem is that I’ve accrued a shit ton of student loan debt from attending a private college.
Let’s be real, I have over $65,000 of student loan debt I’m being suffocated by—not to mention a mortgage and a car loan.
When you look past the follower count and the life I portray through social media, you can see this life I'm living isn't so glamorous.
I would trade many of you in a heartbeat in order to have the financial freedom and the daily stress off my back.
I’m not making enough at the day job to pay off debt and save at the same time, but I'm determined and will achieve this goal. However, the only way I’m able to this is by pursuing projects that will allow me to knock out this debt quicker.
This means I’ve had to start freelancing again—which has actually been fun and I've worked with some awesome clients. I've also begun building digitally based products like my recent Weekly Content Checklist.While posters, t-shirts and patches are nice to haves, there is too much overhead and time that goes into them that I don't have.
On top of my current freelance and products, I’ve been managing my weekly blog, newsletter, podcast and a featured custom image to go with them all. While these may not be making me money, they are pivotal to where I see my business going.
This isn’t a boast saying I can manage a commitment like Inktober with my current project load—this is me publicly telling you that I’m a fucking lunatic.
Cramming more activities to my already over-scheduled life did more damage than I expected.

I stressed myself out repeatedly.
I missed opportunities to spend quality time with my wife. (no devices and no drawing)
I missed opportun