“Find your voice and don’t ever give up.” Easier said than done, right? Performance Specialist and Creativity Coach, Fabian Thomas, shares lessons from his 40-year creative career.

Consistency

A creative career may not have the throughline of a traditional CV. The detours and off-ramps will make sense in the long run, if you keep coming back to it. It can be discouraging, Thomas notes, “when you put on the play but can’t pay your rent because you have to pay the theatre. Or you can’t pay your actors until you make some money from your 9 to 5. Consistency is coming back to it because you know I have to do this, this is my thing.”

Clarity

Pay attention to what you want to create and, more important, why. “I’ve always been very clear that I wanted to create art and work in healthy spaces, that I wanted people to leave me better than when they came.” Clarity about his ethos simplifies Thomas’ content choices, his approach to writing and directing and the processes that run his productions.

Courage

Staying true to your creative spirit means taking risks to explore your ideas, even if, especially if, no one else is doing them. In a landscape dominated by comedies. Thomas chooses meatier pieces with social themes that challenge his actors and his audience’s expectations. That adds up to a body of work that feels uniquely his.

Commerce

Focus on the integrity of your art, yes, but if you intend to make your living from it, treat it like a business. If your creative lane isn’t commercial, research sectors where those skills add value and formalize your business to take advantage of grants and partnership opportunities.

Find Thomas’ work with creatives on IG @coachingforcreatives876