Question for professional photographers - discouragement?

[joedlh]

You should judge yourself by your pride in your craft and what you have produced, not by what others are doing. I look at what many others produce and see flaws. Whether or not they have received great acclaim is irrelevant to me. So it doesn't upset me.

As for making photography a career, it's probably not wise to put all of one's eggs in that one basket. It takes a long time to become recognized to the point where your have enough contracts to keep you busy and pay the rent.