Sunday ☕ : The Awkward Stage of Starting Life

The morning light catches the lake, gleaming like liquid gold. Summer’s last breath warms the air while autumn whispers through the maples, their leaves just beginning to blush orange and crimson. Here in the Adirondacks, the baby loons have shed their fuzzy innocence, transforming into sleek young adults testing their wings. Soon their parents will abandon them to fly south, leaving the youngsters to master independence through trial and solitude. It’s nature’s way of saying: You’re ready, even if you don’t feel it.

In a few hours, I’ll reluctantly pack my car and drive north to Burlington, then fly back to the demands of boardrooms and studios. My extended summer here — interrupted by that magical month in China — feels like it ended before it truly began. The fiberoptic cable running along the lake bottom has been my lifeline, letting me broadcast from this sanctuary instead of rushing back and spending time on airplanes. Technology gave me the gift of not having to choose between work and wonder.
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But reality calls. Board meetings await in Austin, followed by the next chapter of what I’m calling my “world art tour.” I’m excited about what’s ahead, yet leaving this place always feels like tearing away a piece of my soul. The air here doesn’t just fill your lungs — it cleanses them. The woods behind my house hold secrets and stories that only emerge during long, wandering hikes. This lake? It’s not just water — it’s liquid meditation.

The Art of Letting Go

Our two recent college graduates spent this summer with us, knowing it was likely their last before careers claim their time. We all needed it — them for the security of home, us for the joy of dishes left strategically in the sink instead of the dishwasher (some things never change). Now they’re in full job-hunt mode, sending resumes into the digital void while complaining about the “rest of their lives” stretching ahead like an endless Monday morning.

I remember that feeling. The simultaneous pull of wanting freedom and fearing it. The confidence of youth battling the terror of the unknown.

At 14, radio fever hit me like lightning. I talked my way into a volunteer spot at the local college station, which led to a part-time gig at a commercial station. The summer after high school, I carpet-bombed the country with resumes and demo tapes. Then the call came: "We like your tape. Be here in three days."

Three days.

I threw a goodbye party (half those friends I never saw again), loaded my tan VW Bug, and drove straight to Fort Lauderdale to help launch Y100. August 3, 1973 — a date burned into my memory. They quickly realized my tape was better than my live performance and banished me to the graveyard shift. But here’s what I didn’t know: I’d just landed at one of the most influential radio stations in America. That halo effect followed me for decades.

The lesson? Sometimes your “failure” is actually your golden ticket. Sometimes getting knocked down is life’s way of positioning you for something bigger.

What I’d Tell My Younger Self (and You)

Here’s what strikes me: My son who skipped college has been independent for years now. He’s struggled — rent payments, food on the table, difficult people to manage — but those struggles forged something college couldn’t: true resilience. While his college-graduate siblings navigate job applications, he’s already been promoted, managing teams, learning the brutal art of human nature through necessity, not theory.

If you’re standing at that threshold between dependence and independence, hear this:

You are more capable than you know. The fact that you haven’t done something doesn’t mean you can’t. Your comfort zone isn’t protecting you — it’s imprisoning you.

Every generation gets dismissed. They called us lazy and entitled too. Every generation thinks the next one is doomed. Ignore the noise. Find your true north.

Beat the system by refusing to be systematic. Online applications are digital cattle calls designed to sort the desperate from the determined. When I hire, I intentionally don’t respond immediately — I want to see who gives up and who gets creative. The ones who send presentations with their follow-ups? The ones who find my address and send something memorable? The ones who contact me three different ways? Those are the ones who understand that exceptional requires more than ordinary effort.

Adapt your operating system. Your generation texts; my generation calls. Your future boss might operate differently than you do. Be willing to speak their language, not just your own.

The Long Game

Do what you love, but if you don’t know what that is yet, try anything that doesn’t make you physically ill. I’ve met countless people who took jobs they thought they’d hate and discovered unexpected passion.

Nothing is permanent except your willingness to settle for mediocre.
Start at the bottom without shame. We all did. The view from the summit is earned, not given.

Always do more than expected. When I was 17, my father drew two lines on paper: “This is what most people do. This is what employers expect. If you want to succeed, operate up here” — and he drew a third line above both. That philosophy got me every promotion I ever received.

Independence isn’t just about paying your own bills — it’s about betting on yourself when no one else will.

P.S. The world tour begins soon. At the end of this week I’m heading to my Fall Color Week artist retreat in Door County, Wisconsin (sold out, but follow my social media for behind-the-scenes content). Next: my inaugural Paint Switzerland trip, including Lake Como and Venice — a painter’s paradise I’ve dreamed of sharing with fellow artists. (Too late to get in, but I’ll announce my next big painters’ trip soon.)

Then Florence, Italy, calls for painting sessions and meetings with some artists and art schools.

Upon return, we launch PleinAir Live (November 4–7), our Global Online Art Summit. Four days of world-class instruction, inspiration, and community with artists from six continents. This isn’t just another online event; it’s a masterclass in seeing the world through an artist’s eyes. Register now and save your spot.

December 6: Art Business Mastery — because talent without business sense is just expensive therapy. Whether you want to sell one painting or fill galleries, this intensive will transform how you think about art as both passion and profession. I’ve kept it at $47 because every artist deserves access to business success. Sign up at www.artbizmastery.com.

January brings Watercolor Live — dive deep into the most challenging and rewarding medium in art. Early bird pricing at watercolor.live.com.

February: Winter Art Escape — my personal retreat where we paint, learn, and connect in ways that will change your art forever. You’ll escape the brutal ice and snow of February for a week of painting with your toes in the sand by the ocean in Hilton Head Island and in the beauty of Savannah. Registration closes October 5. Don’t wait; it always sells out about the time the first cool weather hits. This year I’ll be trying something new … too soon to announce, but you’ll want to be a part of this new tradition. Reserve your spot at winterartescape.com.

And the crown jewel: The Plein Air Convention & Expo in the Ozarks — our biggest and most spectacular yet. The main hotel is nearly sold out, and you must register to secure accommodations. This isn’t just a convention, it’s a pilgrimage for serious outdoor painters. It’s where your tribe gathers year after year. Join us at pleinairconvention.com.

Who Is This Guy Eric Rhoads?

Eric Rhoads is the founder and publisher of PleinAir Magazine and Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine (both on newsstands nationally), author and host of six Art Marketing instruction videos, writes a blog on Art Marketing, and is the author of the Amazon bestseller Make More Money Selling Your Art. Additionally, he produces the weekly e-newsletters American Watercolor, Fine Art Today, Inside Art, PaintTube ArtNotes, Pastel Today, Plein Air Today, and Realism Today. Eric hosts the in-person Plein Air Convention & Expo, the Fine Art Trip for art collectors, and painting retreats including Paint Adirondacks, Fall Color Week, and the Winter Art Escape, as well as online virtual events Acrylic Live, Pastel Live, PleinAir Live, Realism Live, Watercolor Live Digital Painting Live, Gouache Live, and Art Business Mastery Day. He is also the producer of the PleinAir Salon Online Art Competition and art instructional courses through PaintTube.tv. Each weekday Eric hosts Art School Live, a YouTube show featuring free demos from a variety of artists, and he is host of the PleinAir Podcast and Art Marketing Minute Podcast. Eric is a plein air, landscape, and portrait painter with works at Castle Gallery. He is heavily involved in the radio industry as founder of Radio Ink Magazine as well as Radio + Television Business Report, the Radio Forecast Conference, and the Hispanic Radio Conference. He is the author of the bestselling book Blast from the Past: A Pictorial History of Radio’s First 75 Years. Eric lives in Austin, Texas, with his bride, Laurie, and they are the parents of triplets. Learn more at EricRhoads.com, or see Everything We Do.