I was thinking the other day about the movie, "In the Realms of the Unreal"...
which talks about the life of artist/janitor Henry Darger. (It is fabulous movie by the way).
In the same light; I was thinking about another of my favorite artists, Vivian Maier
(and the subsequent movie about her life; "Finding Vivian Maier").
And I've come to a sort of conclusion... that you just have to find what you are truly passionate about... and stick with it.
Or as a friend of mine puts it "keep showing up."

Day in, Day out.
Every day.
Work on it.
Keep at it.
Don't be swayed.

(or as in the James Taylor song, "... never give up, never die young..."