Conclusion: For Those Who Are Already on Their Way

Trust & Gentle Courage

If a friend is hesitating about leaving her tech job, what would you tell her?

I would say: everyone’s situation is different. Every choice is a combination of push and pull.

Push is the exhaustion, pressure, or desire to escape your current environment or lifestyle.
Pull is your genuine love for something.

If the push from tech is too strong, and art simply appears to be a beautiful escape hatch, you will most likely be disappointed. Art is a harsh industry—just like film or entertainment—with a pyramid structure. If you want to be a professional artist, the competition is even fiercer than in tech or finance, which at least offer stability.

But if your pull toward art is truly powerful—if you know you’re not turning toward art just to flee your current job but because you genuinely love it—then I would encourage you: as long as you can take care of yourself, your family, and your finances, be brave and make the choice.

And honestly, if your pull is strong enough to change your life, you’re probably already making art. Whether you're watercoloring, writing, or creating in some other form—you would have already begun.
If you haven’t started yet, then I would say:
Don’t quit your job just yet.

Stay for a while longer. Start building your “second career curve.” Plant a small seed. Create something. If you can put together a small portfolio, participate in a local group show, or produce a few works and see how it feels—then decide whether you want to become an artist.

Talking to artists one-on-one is also important. Some may not respond, but many will generously share their experience.

My advice is:
Don’t quit impulsively.

When I left tech, it may have looked impulsive, but I already had an O-1 artist visa, a body of work, exhibitions, collectors, and a certain foundation. Even so, leaving tech has still been extremely difficult. So all I can say is: think carefully before you decide.

It may not be the answer readers want, but it is the most honest advice I can give.

What do you want her to believe in?

I want her to believe in her pull.

Believe in your love.
Believe in the force that draws you forward.
Believe that you can be honest with yourself.

If art is not an escape, then what is it?

I don't like the word “escape.”

Art is not an escape—
Art is a way of being.
A way of exploring outward and reflecting inward.
If you have things you long to express—if you are someone with strong inner awareness who needs to speak through words or images—then you can make art.

For you, when approaching art, what matters most is not the result, but what?

Being an artist isn’t about the result; it’s about a way of living.

It’s a rhythm of constantly looking outward and inward.
It’s choosing to live inside a continuous cycle of exploration.

Finally, if the reader takes one sentence from this book, what should it be?

I don’t believe in the word talent. I don’t think talent is decisive. The foundation of real success is:
long-term effort + genuine love + actually doing the thing + persisting.

Love alone is not enough.
Talent alone is not enough.
Hard work alone is not enough.
Persistence is what matters most.

If the reader takes only one sentence from this book, it would be:

If you feel this is what you want to do, then start immediately.

And then persist—3 years, 5 years, 10 years.
If you can keep going, you will succeed.